Conservation 3(SP3)

Vanity in the Preservation Sphere

When Vanity gets distorted by the self-preservation instinct, E3 becomes worried with his safety and conservation, manifesting vanity into believing he's productive, responsible, and "good" – it is deceitful not for the sake of prestige and status like SOC3, or for its ability to be attractive and desirable like SX3, but "to get what they think will give them the security they hunger for."

Every E3 sells an image, but this subtype sells the idea of someone who apparently doesn't care about their image; they avoid being self-assuming and often portray themselves as reliable, helpful and hard-working individuals.

Ichazo called SP3 "Security", a need for security, power, money and position, which then results in a preference for being efficient that leads to them identifying themselves through what they produce. Naranjo described it as an individual who ends up confusing being as appearing reliable, becoming unaware of his motivations and identifying himself with his roles, behaviours and performances.

Trait Structure

To be the best and To be useful

A childhood environment between deception and seduction can be the origin of the base of mistrust and the feeling of being in danger of this subtype. The record of childhood would be a “they tell him: I’ll give you, but they don't give him anything”; a mere flattery with a promise was included, with which the child cannot trust who cares for him.

Hence the great capacity of the conservation E3 to: guess the “needs” of the other, to be at his service, to do what is thick for him.

Children who live in a dangerous environment try to protect themselves, and the conservation E3 usually does is avoid drawing attention to himself, remaining frozen and expressionless. As Herman notes, “avoiding any physical expression of his inner turmoil.” And sometimes, when all this fails, “children try to appease their abusers with displays of automatic obedience.” Similarly, the future conservation E3 kids redouble their efforts to control the situation in the only way they think possible: by trying to be good.

In the conservation E3, a history of implicit psychological abandonment by the parents is characteristic. As a child he learns to get by in life with different ingredients; do not disturb, do not cause problems, go unnoticed, take care of the parental figure, and solve problems of any kind. And so, over time, the attitude becomes more and more “tough,” and gives way throughout life to a constant putting oneself above others, to a lack of confidence in organismic self-regulation, and to ideas of: “I'm only worth it if I'm the best” and “I only exist if I'm useful.” His constant struggle to be the best or useful is born of a silent demand not to be abandoned.

Self-sufficiency

One of the central features in the conservation E3 is power alone. This power of action and resolution of situations with the use of their own resources reinforces their capacity and the image they have of themselves: that of a self-sufficient person, with great resolving and efficient capacity. A self-image that in turn compensates for the deep sense of awkwardness and shame that lies behind the mask of a conservation E3. Shame and awkwardness were early repressed feelings; on the other hand, the capacity and improvement were valued positively by the environment. They are usually precocious children in speech, walking, and the development of adult responsibilities.

Control

Control is the reverse of anguish, and anguish or fear is for an E3 an overwhelming and not allowed experience. The avoidance of internal anguish is controlled by turning outwards, without paying attention to the internal world. Hence, the conservation E3 is available for everything that comes from outside.

This feature assumes the crazy idea that life can and should be controlled. This means that the inner life is automatically under control and there are no internal movements, with a continuous self-cleaning based on not containing or resting anything internal, and resolving conflicts in such a way that the other stays well with one. That is why it does not support the anger of the other or the conflict in any way. Paradoxically, and due to his need for things to be done and to be as he believes, there is great difficulty in giving space and validity to the other, and to his way of being and proceeding.

One of the singularities of the chameleon is graphic, with each eye looking in a different direction. This is how the conservation E3 could be seen: with one eye controlling the one next to him and the other focused on what he is doing.

This movement of control, which responds to his need for security, leads him to control absolutely everything around him, from everyday life (order inside the house, in objects) to the family (giving advice, resolving issues), through the job. It is a control with which he manipulates the people he lives with so that they do what he needs for the sake of his safety: “if you do what I think is good, I will be calm.” He does not realize how he truly is to others, and there he also masks reality. Well, on the other hand, his great arrogance, putting himself on top of others with the attitude of: “I know and you have no idea how things are,” comes from a hidden fear of the other, of life, of movement and lack of control.

Hyperactivity

Another facet of conservation E3 is multitasking, feeling all the better the more you do. In this sense, action energizes this personality, which finds satisfaction in multifunction. Being busy is therefore a way of feeling safe, and moving quickly from one thing to another, a way of controlling.

Multitasking does double duty. On the one hand, it reinforces the idea of power and capacity. That idea of “how good and how smart I am” must continually strengthen it because that is how the internal clumsiness is hidden. On the other hand, it prevents him from contacting the inner world; that is, it makes it difficult for him to stop with himself.

Helpful compulsion

Another inseparable feature of emptiness is an automatic tendency to take care of the need of the other, which dynamically depends on not being able to hold the emptiness of “not satisfying” since there is a deep fear of real contact.The conservation E3 does not know how to deal with reality and this clumsiness is not supported or shown, but translates into “not knowing how to say no”: he does not know how to defend himself, nor ask nor enter into conflict; making it easier for him, apparently, to be there for the other and thus avoid confrontation.

Covering the needs of others has a double function. On the one hand, conflict with the other is avoided, who does not get in touch with the dissatisfaction of his need and therefore not with frustration, so he does not direct his destructiveness towards the helper. On the other hand, the conservation E3 is so busy with others that they don’t take charge of themselves. The feeling of not needing induces an apparent strength and perfection, which gives him power over himself; a feeling that is reinforced by the fact of beginning to be a reference figure for the other and thus earn a place.

It is also true that the helping compulsion is sometimes a projection of one's need. In this sense, the conservation E3 must learn to ask, to allow himself to be nurtured by others, to abandon the role of strength, to show fragility, to ask for forgiveness, to say no, and to live and let live.

Be a reference person

As we have just seen, another trait to consider is that of the person of reference, which is dynamically dependent on the helping compulsion. It comes from the tendency to do what is expected of one, for not sustaining the conflict of being inadequate. This attitude becomes not knowing how to be silent or still, which leads to a tendency to be the leader of any meeting, although not in an “obvious” way, but rather by weaving a network to become essential. By always having something to say and something to offer, the conservation E3 creates dependencies.

Through his well-intentioned way of being, he can take the conversation where it is expected, always seeking recognition from others and adapting his feelings to what he believes is expected of him. It is characteristic that this conceited person drives his “wedges” constantly, without having finished listening many times to what the other person has to say, already having the speech prepared and, contrary to what he neurotically believes, saying almost the same thing that was just said, only with his finishing touch.

Confluence

If we consider the confluence of the conservation E3 as a form of survival, we can understand the demand to be for the other as a lifestyle. This aspect leads to the development of highly intuitive individuals, who in this facet resemble the E9, although with very different motivations.

The pain of individuation, the risk of being, and fear are hidden under doing what is expected of one, which is a way of not being aware of the automatism that covers the existential void of not knowing what to do for oneself, of having no idea where to direct their steps without someone else to mobilize them towards constant action.

It should be added that the fission or confluence with the other is a way of feeling power. By creating dependency from goodness, the idea that one is necessary is fed. However, this entails enormous difficulty in being alone, in recognizing one's own feelings, needs and limits. In addition, this confluence or being for the other makes it possible to blame them if something does not work, in an evasion of the responsibility of being, feeling, and needing.

This not knowing how to be oneself without the look and approval of another person is similar to the fusion that E9 experiences, but instead of being an automatic and indolent servility, in E3 it has a background of helping, advising and listening so as not to feel alone, and to be loved. It is a long-term investment, where the ingredients of patience, restraint, hindsight, and endurance are common.

The banishment of error

Related to the image of goodness and efficiency is not allowing the error. A conservation E3 does not distinguish the thought from the action: it acts without digesting the thought. In this way, the first “mistake” for an E3 would be to stop with oneself, “be selfish,” focus on what he wants for himself.

The mistake that there is in not wanting to make mistakes comes from the fear of disqualification, of rejection. We are facing a vital need: rejection is like death for this subtype, who understands that if someone censors his way, he is censoring him. In short: if doing is censored, being is annulled.

Self-perfecting

Another characteristic feature of conservation E3 is to feel that overcoming is a lifestyle. It's not just about doing better, but about being a better person. Adapting to the values expected of him reinforces the idea of being someone adequate and perfect.

It is a way of keeping vanity at “the right level,” not lowering the bar and doing a little more each time to surpass the previous mark, in front of others and in front of oneself. The conservation E3 is a character that strives to do well and bears similarity to the E1, which is a perfecter from morality, while the E3 is a self-perfecter from doing. From this position, he teaches others how things have to be at peace so that they go well, without error and if possible the first time.

Something very typical of this subtype is the “don’t do what I already did,” because it underlies the belief that he does it better and in less time than the others. Buying time is important, so it turns quickly to have more time to do more things, thus gaining a greater sense of efficiency and capacity. Forgetting oneself with vanity here takes the form of fattening the ego through wear and tear.

Order

When he loses control and an overflowing emotionality appears, the conservation E3 usually gets angry with himself or with the person or situation involved. Because “what are emotions for?” He considers that feeling is a waste of time and that it does not solve anything. Emotions break the feeling of order and having everything under control.

Linked to perfectionism, order is a value that makes a lot of sense in the life of the conservation E3, who is ordered in the different aspects of his existence, from the material order in the house, to the family, or work.

Self-demand

Self-demand is like a runaway force that leads the conservation E3, by yet another way, to disconnect. It prevents you from accepting things as they are and containing what you don't like (such as anger with someone), demanding even more to be better.

Self-demanding has to do with not allowing mistakes and with things not going as planned, something that generates a lot of contained anger, since the great effort that he undertakes many times does not help him at all.

The persistent dynamic is not giving in to anything or anyone, controlling each step, reviewing each other's gesture, and blaming oneself when what was intended has not come out. That is why surrender means defeat, being characteristic of trying to solve or overcome a setback in “all” imaginable ways to reach the intended goal.

Knowing how to sell

The image that an conservation E3 sells is that of a safe, reliable, kind, available, strong person, who does not need help, who does it alone, who is not going to bother, who knows how to have a good time, who does not get angry, who makes it easy, who is not going to create conflicts. But unlike the persuasiveness of E7, where being admirable is in the service of complacency, at E3 the ability to sell an image is in the service of being accepted. For this reason, it is easy to love but also not to be taken into account, because its availability and its good work ends up being boring.

Claudio Naranjo's Self-Preservation 3 Description

E3 Conservation – Security

When considering enneatype three in a panoramic way, we are struck by its social and sexual manifestations. But when we meet people of the conservative E3 type, we cannot exactly say that we are dealing with a third type of vanity, because just as the proud of the conservative subtype do not seem proud, the vain of conservation do not seem visibly vain to us either -and I have come to characterize them as countervailing, using a language analogous to that of psychoanalysis when it introduced the notion of the “counterphobic” character, which hides its fear through visibly audacious attitudes.

Over the years I have found that the same is true in the case of conservation of each of the passions. In E1, for example, the fact that he does not seem angry and that he masks his anger while defending himself behind benevolent attitudes is striking.

The case of the conservative E3, which seems not very vain, resembles that of someone who is so determined to be a good person (that is, to follow the perfect or ideal model of the good mother, the good housewife, etc.) such a way translates into an implicit taboo on vanity. Therefore, it can be difficult for an inexperienced person to recognize a conservation E3, who could be confused with an E1 or other traits.

If we ask ourselves what is his neurotic need, what does a conservational three need above all else, it might seem that he would try first and foremost to be good; but that is a universal commandment, present in almost everyone's life (although some people rebel against it). More specific to E3 conservation is the concept, underlined by Ichazo, of security, and it seems to me that a threatened security makes these people also develop a special autonomy. Since they were not taken care of enough, they learned to take care of themselves, and later they also take care of others. There is an atmosphere of security around E3, and they are often people you turn to for advice, as they seem to specialize in problem solving. This passion for security can oversimplify their lives, however, by narrowing their interests to what is most practical and useful. Furthermore, when you want to give efficiency too much priority, you end up making efficiency itself efficient.