Twos can also be driven and energetic, extremely competent people who get a lot of things done and strive to do things well, especially as a way to impress others.Īs with all the archetypal personalities, however, Type Twos’ gifts and strengths also represent their “fatal flaw” or “Achilles heel.” Their focus on appearing to be powerful enough to “do anything” for others leads to self-inflation. Twos’ particular “superpower” is that they can be excellent friends and will often go to great lengths to take care of and support loved ones.
They can be very diplomatic and skilled at delivering messages in ways that people can hear. Twos are naturally practiced in the art of using positive communication to create rapport. They are usually cheerful, optimistic, warm, and friendly. The natural strengths of Type Twos include their genuine ability to listen to others, empathize with their feelings, and meet their needs. The Two archetype illustrates the idea that when you want something from others to support your well-being, “you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar ” charm and helpfulness in the present provide a good groundwork for asking for favors in the future. Once a friendly relationship has been established, that human link may be used as a resource in a time of need. This false self engineers positive emotional alignment with people who then provide support for survival. The false self that Twos model is one seeking to create positive connections with others through an attractive and inviting front. Twos often appear boundlessly and indispensably generous, helpful, attractive, and supportive. A tendency toward self-aggrandizement or self-inflation undergirds the Type Two’s persona. Type Twos are thus the prototype for that part in all of us that adopts an elevated or idealized view of ourselves and our ability to make others like us. Their aid constitutes a strategic means of getting needs met through promises of reciprocal care, which sometimes involves promising more than can be delivered. These individuals find self-worth in being needed by those they value and (unconsciously) seek to get their own needs met in return. For each, below the surface, the giving is not an altruistic kind of helpfulness. It also fits the pattern of the classic “codependent”-the person who becomes addicted to supporting and enabling an addict. Jung described the anima as being like a “glamorous, possessive, moody, and sentimental seductress.” Related to the Great Mother or the Great Goddess archetypes, the archetypal feminine principle represents fundamental human ideas about the all-powerful, numinous woman who provides vital nourishment, and displays the feminine qualities of warmth, receptivity, softness, emotional sensitivity, and openness to the other.Īn element of this Two archetype can also be found in the caricature of the “Jewish mother” who is superficially selfless as a way to exercise emotional control over everyone close to her.
Twos can be of either gender, of course, but the Type Two archetype mirrors the Jungian concept of “anima,” or the inner feminine. This strategy also provides a way to try to get others to take care of you while still defending yourself against the pain of having someone important reject a direct request to meet a need. The drive to win others’ approval through indirect methods, such as seduction and strategic giving, is a way to obtain emotional and material support without having to ask for it. Type Two represents the archetype of the person who seeks to please others as a way to evoke affection.
