The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge

by Beatrice Chestnut

The Inner Flow growth path for Type Fours brings them into direct contact with the challenges embodied in Type Two: allowing for a balance between self-referencing and other-referencing, between meeting your own needs and meeting the needs of others, and between being your authentic self and adapting to other people. Under stress, Fours can get defensive when pressed toward the Two point and act out the lower side of Two by giving compulsively in an effort to be liked, or giving up what they need in an attempt to buy others’ love or acceptance. But when Fours can consciously manage the challenges embodied in the Two “stress–growth” opportunity, they can use the high side Two qualities to bring themselves out of their self-absorption, intense feelings, and isolation, find creative ways to express who they really, are and open themselves up to connecting with others.