Type Fives are known as the Investigative Observer
Type 5s are smart and focused. They find comfort in having all the knowledge. If you want to buy a new car or plan a vacation, be sure to ask a Type 5 to do the research for you. They love it almost as much as they enjoy the vacation. They are private individuals who need extra time to process and think. They usually like being alone in order to recharge since they operate on a lower battery than the rest of us.
Listen:
Enneagram coach Joel Hubbard interviews a panel of Enneagram Type 5s on this podcast from The Art of Growth. I think you will hear some familiar things from these folks who were so willing to be open about what is going on inside their head.
In this episode of the Typology podcast, Ian Morgan Cron interviews singer, songwriter, activist Dan Hazeltine. Entitled Balancing Intellect with Emotion, Dan shares how as a Type 5 he has learned to connect with his emotional side.
Watch:
If you don’t already know about The Twilight Zone from the 60s, you must take a few minutes to watch one of their very best episodes about Mr. Henry Bemis. All he wanted to do was have time to read books. Check out what happens to him in this episode titled: Time Enough at Last.
When you think about it, Facebook is the perfect way for type 5s to do relationships. It is a social access point that has no emotional demands and does not require any human contact. The Social Network movie is the story of how another Type 5 (Mark Zuckerberg) created Facebook. You can rent it on Amazon for $3.99.
Read:
The Enneagram Institute is a great place to get a lot of information about each type. This post covers all the things important for a Type 5 to know as you begin your journey of investigating who you are in your type.
Since Type 5s are in the thinking triad (I’ll talk more about triads in another post), they make decisions and move through life primarily with their mind. Therefore, their emotions and bodies can get neglected. In this book, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science, you will learn that your brain has the ability to change through neuroplasticity allowing you to get in touch with the other parts of yourself.
Grow:
Type 5s are out of balance with respect to their intellectual center (mind, body, heart) and they tend to over-rely on their thoughts, knowledge, intelligence, etc. Therefore, it is really important for a type 5 to do something physical. Find a way to be active so that your mind can rest and tap into your bodies through something like yoga, stretching or biking, etc.