Type Two
The Charming Supporter

Center of Intelligence: Heart center
Motivation: To be seen as loving, kind, generous and supportive
Core Fears: Being useless, indispensable, without significance, attention, or love

Twos are effusive, emotionally expressive, people-oriented, willful, and manipulative. Twos are motivated to be seen as helpful and want to be the "special person" in the lives of others. They pride themselves on their ability to easily see what is needed and fill those needs before being asked. Their attunement to what others need and want and how to present a pleasing image can make them highly desirable, generally likable, and well-received. Twos struggle with pride and have difficulty seeing how their attentiveness and supportiveness come with considerable reciprocity expectations. However, because they fear being needy, they are often unaware of their own needs and project what they want into the environment and fill their own needs in others. If Twos needs a compliment, they will compliment someone else; if they want a hug, they will offer a hug; if they want to be surprised, they will surprise others.

False Abundance
Twos are often unaware of this projection and very frequently don't notice that when the need to be taken care of arises, they project it outward and disown their expectations. Twos feel a sense of sadness that others do not readily help, support, compliment, or love them as frequently as they do for others. Their sadness converts into martyrdom because, as positive, prideful people, being sad or somehow deficient is unacceptable. Naranjo taught that Twos suffer from a sense of "false abundance." Twos believe that others don't see, acknowledge, or appreciate what they do for others when they are in a state of martyrdom. Their disappointment is expressed indirectly through critical advice-giving, bossiness, histrionics (heavy sighing, brusqueness, temper tantrums, sulking, etc.), emotional manipulativeness, or an inability to be pleased.

Over-Extension of Self
Twos often offer more than they can realistically give yet deliver more than they promise. They may spread themselves a bit thin through a desire to be valued as indispensable to others. Twos are the most outwardly emotional type on the Enneagram and are prone to easily crying or spontaneous expressions of excitement and joy. Twos need others to mirror the positive image of themselves as loving, kind, and supportive but because of their pride, they can become convinced that others might not survive without their care or attention.

Indeed, they often have made themselves indispensable to others to defend against the fear of being inconsequential. Because of this strategy, they hold considerable power in their relationships.

Other-Focused Pushiness
Twos are masterful at ascertaining what will make people feel valued, special, and encouraged. If Twos are pleased with you, it can feel like the sun shines upon you. However, many Twos recognize that their adoration is contingent on the admiration of the other. If the other person meets their standards (which will vary from Two to Two), they feel positive. However, if the other person does not value their advice and doesn't recognize their efforts, support, love, or attention, Twos feels hurt and angry with others.

 When Twos are stressed, they become increasingly pushy, manipulative, and overbearing, and their hostility and anger are more direct. They may fall ill expecting others to care for them or become overtly aggressive and dominating as a way to punish others for the Twos perceived suffering. Their pride blinds them to the fact that they may not know what other people need or want and become focused on executing their own will at the expense of what is truly needed.

When Healthy and Balanced
When healthy, Twos remember to attune to their needs and desires first to avoid feeling underappreciated or undervalued by others. They learn to ask directly for what they want rather than manipulating out of fear of being rejected or rebuked. They can exemplify selfishness in the highest sense of the word, understanding that a genuine helper is useless if their needs are not satisfied. They illustrate the principles of compassionate support and can be immensely encouraging. Many Twos can be like a fairy godparent to those they've taken under their wing and truly make magical things happen.

Exemplars: Kim Kardashian, Madonna, Lady Gaga, John Travolta, Oprah Winfrey, Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Peron, John Voight, Cinderella/Fairy Godmother, Joe Biden, Jimmy Carter, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Danny Glover, Tyler Perry, Glen Close, Ariana Grande, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Walters, Andrew Cuomo, Kerry Washington, RuPaul, Ed Sheeran, Tyra Banks, Sarah Jessica Parker, Paul Rudd, Courtney Love, Bette Midler, Lana Del Rey, Jon Bon Jovi, Bill Cosby, Satya Sai Baba, Keith Raniere, Lizzo, Katy Perry, Reese Witherspoon, Mario Lopez, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift.