Personality Traits of Enneagram 5 – 14 Types to Recognize Them

People with personality traits of the enneagram 5 type contain alertness, curiosity, and the ability to gain deeper insight into different aspects of life. They remain calm and lead their life independently. These people remain on the lookout for bringing innovation into existing things or creating new stuff for bringing positive changes to society. If we relate this personality type with Myers-Briggs, Enneagram 5 is a mixture of INTP and INTJ personalities.

These individuals are always willing to preserve their energy toward things that matter in life. Hence, Enneagram 5s do not bother about maintaining relationships. Rather, they focus on gaining knowledge and attaining competency.

An Enneagram 5 personality type individual does not feel the need to receive validation from others. They create their paths and follow them without bothering about what people will think. These people will focus on their interests and keep pursuing them no matter what.

Personality Traits of Enneagram 5

Enneagram 5 personality types are known as Investigators. They get this tag due to their eagerness toward finding out why everything around them is the way it is. They intend to always know how every little thing in this world works by going into the depth of those things.

Fives are not those who will blindly accept whatever people have to say. They have a strong urge to know the truth behind whatever opinion or statement they come across from others. Their earnest desire is to always learn and gather information about the world, hence resulting in the expansion of knowledge.

These individuals love spending their time observing and contemplating different things they come across in their lifetime.  The relentless pursuit of knowledge comes from the great insecurities they face concerning their potential to function successfully across the world. Enneagram 5s do not engage themselves directly in doing those activities that can lead to the growth of their confidence level. They will rather prefer taking a step back and start working on their minds to feel much more capable.

Do you think of yourself as someone who has an Enneagram Type 5 personality? You can go ahead and take one of the popular enneagram personality tests, like the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator to determine your type. If the enneagram test reveals that you are a Type 5 individual, then you would have the following personality traits –

1. Curious to Know Everything in Detail

People with the enneagram 5 personality type have an intense curiosity for getting to the depth of different elements of life. They do not like to have a half-hearted understanding of any concept. Doing so makes them feel incomplete.

Their curiosity arises from the desire to enrich their minds with knowledge. Going deeper into the details makes them feel confident to face challenges and move forward in life. They always tend to find new avenues for gathering information from several sources.

2. Highly Independent and Withdrawn

If you are friends with someone with an Enneagram 5 personality type, you will notice that he or she is fiercely independent. They love doing things on their own and do not depend on anyone else for guidance. You will even see them remaining obsessed with some topic or the other to accumulate knowledge. It means that they are in their comfort zone.

Now, there are occasions when these individuals become so engrossed in understanding the minute details of any subject that Enneagram 5s can completely withdraw themselves from society. They will prefer not to keep any connection with the external world as it can interfere with their thought process.

3. Seems to Remain Absent Minded

Enneagram 5s tend to remain engrossed in nurturing all kinds of thoughts inside their mind. Hence, being absentminded is nothing new for these individuals. It also happens when they are not in their healthy state.

They will cling to all those things that create a different level of interest in their mind. These people would only focus on those things they need to survive and stay safe. There is no way that an Enneagram 5 would take unnecessary chances in life.

4. They Are Objective and Imaginative

Enneagram type 5s are imaginative and creative individuals. They prefer to think out of the box and do something unique in their life. Their purpose is to make a meaningful impact on the lives of people across the world. Simultaneously, these people are objective as well.

They wish to keep their emotions aside while making important decisions in life. These people feel that being emotional is a sign of weakness and interrupts their free flow of thinking. Hence, Fives use their logic to make decisions and reach favorable conclusions.

5. Strong Inner World

People find it extremely tough to breach the inner world of an Enneagram 5. It happens because they are not emotional beings. They always see things from a logical point of view and make decisions accordingly. No one can influence Fives to act as they want.

These individuals will only do what they feel is right. Fives always direct their thought process and actions towards doing those things that help them grow and develop in life. Even in doing so, these personality type individuals will continue to have their composure.

6. Focus on Gathering Knowledge Across Topics of Interest

Whenever any subject or topic catches the attention of this Enneagram personality type, they will make sure to invest time and effort toward knowing every single aspect of it in detail. It will help them collect crucial information and use the same in the best possible manner to expand their knowledge.

Once the expansion of knowledge takes place, it will be a step forward in bringing forth intellectual advancement among the members of this society. Their curiosity and level of dedication make them tighten their grip over those topics they are fascinated to know and understand. Hence, Fives can ensure that they make a massive impact on society.

7. Fives Use Their Resources Judiciously

All those with enneagram five personality types make use of their resources after giving thoughtful consideration. People can easily recognize them for their minimalist lifestyle. They take pride in their ability to think hard and lead simple lives.

Fives are cautious in judiciously using all their resources. These individuals do not like wasting stuff and hence, become selective about people with whom they want to carry out social interactions. They will always accept only a few of them and reject the rest.

8. Gives Response to Offer Insight

One of the significant personality traits of Enneagram 5 is their ability to respond with something extra for people to know and understand the world better. They always intend to provide people with deeper insight and pave the way for widening others’ knowledge.

It enables them to get a different perspective on any aspect of life. Hence, they can put their minds to work and gain a lot of information from a wide range of sources. This will make them aware of things that are happening across the world.

9. Thinks Hard Before Speaking

Enneagram 5 personality type people do not speak up just about anything for the sake of doing so. These individuals carry out extensive research about the topic of discussion, gather sufficient knowledge of the same, and only after a point of time, when they feel confident, then only fives speak up.

Competency and being useful are essential requirements for these Investigators. They cannot afford to feel incompetent in their life. It is a must for them to make meaningful contributions to the lives of others. One of their motives is to stimulate people intellectually. Hence, it makes them do something out of the ordinary.

10. Fives Do Not Like Small Talks

As Enneagram 5 personality type people are intellectual and inquisitive in their approach, they do not prefer indulging themselves in useless talks that have no substance. They will always want to invest their precious time and energy into doing something constructive. Do you genuinely wish to connect with these individuals? If it is so, make sure to engage them in discussing intriguing topics.

When someone does not manage to do this, it is ideal for them to stay away from enneagram fives. They find talking over petty issues not worthy of their time. These people believe that they will not contribute toward their growth and development in life in any manner.

11. Sets Clear Boundaries in Life

An individual with Enneagram 5 personality type has set priorities in their life. So, these people never mix their personal life with their professional commitments. Hence, they always set clear boundaries to keep them apart from one another. It enables them to focus on the work at hand and carry out their responsibilities on time and in the desired manner.

Once they complete their work, Enneagram 5s move on to another area of expertise to fulfill different responsibilities. They even keep aside some part of their life to spend with friends and other near and dear ones.

12. Focus on Working Toward the Enhancement of Skills

One of the features within an Enneagram 5 person is they do not stop learning at any point in their life. They believe a day without learning anything new is a sheer waste of time. It helps them to upgrade their skills and attain new levels.

When they improve on their existing skills or acquire new ones over time, Fives become even more confident in facing tough challenges and overcoming them with flying colors to reach their goals.

13. Habit of Challenging Conventions

Enneagram 5s do not like carrying out their responsibilities as they have been doing for some time. They prefer taking a different approach for the smooth progress of work. It makes them show the world how anyone can perform their duties to meet some needs even without following rules and traditions.

It is where the innovation, and ability to create and implement new ideas now and then come to the forefront for the investigator. These people will love questioning rules and have the confidence to bend them as per their convenience and needs.

14. Remains Steady Under Pressure

An excellent quality that anyone can inculcate within themselves is their ability to stay calm even under immense pressure. An Enneagram 5 manages to do so because it can think through the most complex problems and find appropriate solutions in due course of time.

They use their creative mindset to good effect and take one step at a time to achieve their goal. Fives never mix their personal life with their professional ones. These people deal with the challenges that exist in both these areas of life with utmost perfection.

Final Words

We have discussed different personality traits of enneagram 5. Enneagram 5 or The Investigator is someone whose focus in life lies on gathering knowledge, nurturing their curiosity, and making lives meaningful for themselves and others. They wish to inspire them into doing something that stimulates their intellectual mind and brings about desired changes in this system.

Their introverted nature does not let them mix with people. Hence, they hate maintaining relationships and fulfilling the demands of the outside world. Fives enjoy their own company, explore different ways to gather knowledge, and use it with their creative mindset to make a positive impact on the surroundings.