What do you mean by “observable patterns”?
One of the difficulties of the Enneagram is that it focuses on internal motivations rather than external behaviors. Additionally, determining one’s type does require a certain level of self-knowledge. For instance, do you go around thinking, “Hmm…what I really fear here is that I’m unworthy of being loved,” or “I suppose that I’m just falling prey to the deadly sin of avarice here”? As a result, it can be hard to tell what another person’s Enneagram type might be, and it might even be tough to tell what your own type is (I’ve personally spent time bouncing back-and-forth among types). So, in order to combat this problem, I’ve put together some short profiles of what might be more observable about each type from the outside looking in and/or what each of us might actually say our surface motivations and defense mechanisms are. I’ve designed these patterns, so that you can watch your behavior for these signs to try and verify what type you are from the outside-working-in. Now, you may not need this progression. Many people can go from the inside-working-out, but I can’t. If you are like me, then I hope this helps you.
Also, if you read through the patterns of a type and say to yourself, “Well, yeah, but isn’t everyone like that?” You may have just found your type.
[If you want to investigate the full traditional descriptions, the best place to go is the Enneagram Institute here: https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions]
Type Two
How do you pay attention? – As a Two, you are naturally aware of the emotional fluctuations of others. You likely have a “sixth sense” for when others’ moods change from positive to negative and vice versa. An additional part of this attention style is that you are often adept at modifying yourself to meet the emotional needs of others.
What do you know intuitively? (i.e., the “superpower” that others notice) – As a natural outgrowth of your attention style, you are “psychic” about sensing the inner needs of others. You can reach behind surface words and behaviors intuitively to know what another person needs.
Defense Mechanisms:
Identification – As a Two, when you feel threatened, you can fall into the defense mechanism of taking what you intuitively know about another person and becoming whatever/whoever meets those emotional needs. (“I’ll be whatever you need me to be.”)
Denial – The other side of identifying with meeting the emotional needs of others is a denial of having needs of your own. (“I don’t have needs. You have needs. I’m just happy to be helping you.”)
Secondary Motivations:
If you have a high degree of self-knowledge, then you might see how your motivations spring from a core desire to be loved (if I “help” or love you enough, then you’ll love me back in return) but – for the rest of us – you might see these motivations instead…
On a good day – I want to express my feelings for others. I want to help people.
On a bad day – I should be appreciated for all I have done for others. I have done so much for you (or “them”), and I deserve to be loved in return.
Warning signs – You may be getting unhealthy when manipulation begins to enter your motivations. If I could just “nudge” them into reciprocating love… I need to make things happen. Whatever demands I make on others are completely justified, you don’t know how much I’ve done and how hard I’ve worked (how much I have sacrificed!). Martyr complexes.
Recurring Temptation:
Each type has a recurring temptation (remember, these are the seven deadly sins, just under a different name) that starts the “snowball” rolling down the hill to being unhealthy. As a Two, the lie that seems so, so, SO “true” is that you always have good intentions. If you find yourself starting to love with strings attached (“for their own good!”), then BEWARE!
Reminder:
Just like the seven deadly sins, we all have the energies of all of the Enneagram types. Even if you identified a lot with what is written above, stay tuned for the other types. You might just identify with another type more closely.
Credit: These observations chiefly come from The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others in Your Life by Helen Palmer and Understanding the Enneagram: The Practical Guide to Personality Types by Don Richard Riso