The Thinker: Growing as an Enneagram 5

by Elisabeth Bennett, Jen Babakhan (Foreword)

The Enneagram is an ancient personality typology using nine points within a circle to represent nine distinct personality types. This sixty-day devotional is for Enneagram Five, known as the Thinker.

This book will help Fives, and those who love them, better understand how God created them and how best to use their unique gifts to serve Him and love others. It features an explanation of what the Enneagram is, how it benefits people, and a full description of what it means to be a Five, including the Thinker’s deadly sin and their greatest strength.

Some attributes of the The sixty days of this devotional are split into six ten-day topics that include uniqueness, weakness, strength, pain points, and how Thinkers react in times of stress and growth.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

Published October 26, 2021

Reviews

[Heidi Gorecki · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️s rounded up. I really liked the concept of a devotional that speaks to your personality and proclivities. Well done application and food for thought as well as biblical application.

[Selina Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how well this really works as a "devotional"--that is, used for growing in religious devotion. It's definitely from a Christian lens, although some days the included verse felt more like "right, this needs to be Christian somehow." Some days did much better than others at being about God and His design, but it kind of overall wasn't really what I typically think of as a devotional, as it didn't have a heavy Scripture or understanding God focus, more understanding yourself.

However, there were some great insights, a few really good parts on appreciating facets of God's nature that are reflected in 5's tendencies and values, and did grow both my sense of understanding myself and feeling less weird/broken for being the way I am (specifically the section on low energy and 5's in stress). It also doesn't excuse things and is focused on growth and the section on stress seasons was interesting and sort of a compassionate like..."these may be your unhealthy tendencies during seasons of stress so that's something to be aware of so you can recognize what is happening and why and see to the root cause of the stress or not hurt yourself or others," which I appreciated, because I don't like when some personality typing things act like "so that's how you are and there's nothing to be done about it."

Some days were definitely stronger or more insightful or thought-provoking than others and a few of the activities to do at the end of each day's devotion were silly to me, but I did overall find this interesting and mostly encouraging and likely will go through it again at some point.

[Patrick Funston · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third enneagram-based journal I’ve done with my wife (doing our own type concurrently). I enjoyed this one’s 60-day timeframe and the way it was segmented into 10-day stretches of deeper dives into aspects of the specific type. This one is definitely Christian in focus and I largely liked it, but there were some regressive theological perspectives I bumped on.

[Addie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This enneagram devotional book for Type 5's is a wonderful resource for anyone looking to improve themselves and grow their weaknesses using both scripture and enneagram truth. I love how it was geared towards the strengths of the 5 (and their growth #8) to lift them to their highest selves. I love how each book is tailored for joy in thier own spehere of happiness. This book was not my dominant type, but my wing, so I found that many of the devotionals applied to me in more subltle ways than if this were my dominant type.

[Tamlein · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Thinker” walks readers through daily practices to find wholeness. I appreciated the focus on concrete activities and journaling prompts to go along with the daily readings. The most helpful chapters were on exploring our relationships with greed, objective thinking, and I’m working through stress and working towards our growth. This is a helpful book for anyone who considers themselves a person of faith with an Investigative Thinker personality.

[Micaela Eberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it overall. The readings were nice, but I would have liked to go a little more in-depth with the concepts. Because it was meant to be a short read, it didn't go too detailed or provide many new perspectives. Those were all thoughts I had before, though it was a nice reminder. I also didn't like the questions most of the time. They were usually yes or no questions, which aren't as good for really thinking.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know this is designed as a 60-day devotional, but I did it in about seven days - covering one theme per day. Honestly, I skimmed over the "devotional" portions of this as they weren't what I was seeking from this book.

I appreciated the enneagram insights - and especially the better look at a 5 going to 7 in stress and 8 in growth. This offered the best description I've read of how that works and I found that I saw myself in those descriptions.

[Hung · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book to learn about yourself and your personality using the Enneagram framework. This book focuses on Type Five, a Thinker type. This book resonates with how I feel and how I view myself. It sheds light on my self-awareness and points the way to future growth. Highly recommended to Type Five out there!

[Emily Bullington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone that wants to learn and grow in their enneagram journey this is a game changer! Elisabeth does an amazing job exploring the basics and then helping you dive deeper.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will immediately start back at the beginning and work through this book one more time. A bit uneven - some entries more insightful than others. But overall a good work.

[Steffanie Kamper Culp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a Christmas present from Todd. I really enjoyed many of the devotionals. Some good insights.

[Billy Wiguna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good resource for daily devotional.

Bite-size wisdom that is practical and relevant, organised in daily reading with plenty of reference to God's word. Very recommended.

[Elisa Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This devotional is one of my favorites I've ever read. It is clear & concise. It is personalized, since I am a pretty strong 5 on the Enneagram. And it does such a great job of pointing to Jesus in all the 5-ish situations. I am so grateful for a devotional that speaks to the counselor in me with the personality science, and brings in scripture and Biblical principle over and over again to remind me who I am in Christ is who I am meant to be.