This Is the Truth About a Competition-Free Zone (For Enneagram 5s)

Dear Investigator,

This is for the planners. The methodical. The curious. The articulate. 

This is for those of us who prefer a little more time to process, who sometimes (maybe most times) want to blend in, who run out of words before the day is done.

I understand you’re not crazy about the attention (I’m not either!), but I’ve been so looking forward to talking with just you. Here’s why: you deserve a competition-free zone where you can see how deeply you’re needed and valued.

What about a trade: those sneaky lies that tell you no one sees you for full permission to thrive as you?

My friend, you have permission to take up space. To lean on others. To share yourself without becoming depleted. To speak your heart when you’re ready. 

Do you know how often you surprise us with your wisdom and wit? Or how your natural curiosity helps the rest of us to lean into our questions? Or how you inspire us to also adopt the posture of a life-long learner?

You’re brave in ways the rest of us can’t begin to understand, and we applaud you. You’re also truly brilliant, and we are grateful for your intellect.

You pave ways, discover remedies, engineer structures, and solve problems for the rest of us. You also stick with us as a loyal friend. Your steady presence is a comfort, and we don’t tell you often enough what you mean to us.

A Blessing for Enneagram 5s

Enneagram 5 friend, your words matter. So does the silence that gives space for your brilliant mind to investigate.

Rest in this: God sees fully all the things you want to understand. The right-next-to-Him place is the best place to learn from Him. So linger here often. In the quiet. With just you and Him.

Your intellect is a gift from God. Let it draw you ever closer to the Giver of that gift. He is also sure and steady—your steadfast, trustworthy Friend.

Let Him meet you when you feel most lonely and unsure of your worth.

May His tender welcome invite you to loose your grip on your self-reliance.

When you feel depleted, may He hold you in the silence and renew your heart.

As you speak, may He be the wisdom that guides you.

Through your discoveries, may you uncover the delightful ways you reflect Christ.

You Already Have God’s Attention

Enneagram 5, you show us how God is steadfast, how His wisdom is limitless, how He cares about the little details about our lives, how He leads with questions, and how He always listens. 

Friend, please don’t doubt or dismiss yourself. You mirror God in ways you alone can, and you have inestimable value!

Tuck this into your heart: You don’t have to compete for God’s attention. You don’t have to be louder to be heard, stand out for Him to lean in close, or be in the center of the activity for you to matter.

The honest truth is, you always have God’s utmost attention. He hears every word you say—the ones you thought were drowned out, even the ones still inside your head.

Here’s assurance that God is attentive and present:

For the Eternal is listening, and nothing pleases Him more than His people . . .

– Psalm 149:4, The Voice

The Eternal stays close to those who call on Him,

    those who pray sincerely.

– Psalm 145:18, The Voice

The Eternal keeps you safe,

    so close to Him that His shadow is a cooling shade to you.

– Psalm 121:5, The Voice

A Competition-Free Zone

God welcomes you into a competition-free zone where you’re never not seen, never not heard, never valued an ounce less than the person next to you.

God’s not hoping you’re someone else. He’s holding onto hope that you will see yourself the way He sees you: as priceless and precious.

You don’t have to know more or be more. God sees you and hears you without fail. And He adores you!

May these truths sink deep: God never second-guesses His design. He doesn’t create after-thoughts. He never makes mistakes.

Because God knew exactly what He was doing when He created you, you can stop comparing yourself to the rest of the crowd and grow in all you are meant to be. You can worship God with your brilliant mind and courageous questions. And you can soften your self-reliance and open up to others.

What if you do need other people? To hold you up when you’re on empty? To help you not get stuck in your head? To surround you with community? 

Perhaps we create a competition-free zone by walking together instead of alone. When we link arms and lean on the God-given strengths we each bring to the table, we begin to see beauty in God’s creative variety. How like Him to make us different so we can fill in the gaps for each other?

Better Together

We’ve all got blindspots and ruts we regularly default to. I appreciate the Enneagram as a tool for making me more aware of my own weak spots, helping me better understand others’ lens, and casting a vision for how rich community is when we allow ourselves to need each other.

P.S. To learn more about Enneagram 5s–including what we appreciate most about you, how you can use your strengths to mirror God’s grace to your neighbors, and (for the rest of us) how we can best missionally love the Enneagram 5s we know–grab the Enneagram Neighboring Lists. Each list is available both as phone wallpaper and as a printable pdf.

One quick tip for now: Talk about the things that refill you. Others can learn from the rhythms and boundaries you’ve put in place.

Just a friend over here in your corner,

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