The holidays are supposed to be joyful. For a lot of Fives, they’re also complicated.

In this final live episode of the year, Josiah and Cody check back in after a break, reflect on what the holidays stir up for Fives, and look honestly at where they’ve grown and where they still default to comfort. From gift-giving anxiety to nostalgia, grief, creativity, and energy management, this episode is a wide-ranging, deeply Five conversation about endings, transitions, and what we want to carry forward.

They also wrap up the year by naming what 2025 taught them and what they’re intentionally leaving behind as they head into the next chapter.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Red, Yellow, Green Check-In – How Josiah and Cody are actually doing heading into the holidays, and why “yellow” doesn’t always mean bad
• Current Curiosities – From radio frequencies and in-ear monitors to electric K-trucks and engine swaps, the latest Five rabbit holes
• Do Fives Hate the Holidays? – Why the answer is “it depends,” and how nostalgia, grief, expectations, and sensory overload all play a role
• Would You Rather: Holiday Edition – Hosting vs intrusive questions, decorating vs shopping, travel chaos vs zero alone time, and more
• Growth vs Comfort in 2025 – Where each of them chose vulnerability, presence, and connection, and where withdrawal still shows up
• Looking Ahead to 2026 – Creative goals, renewed energy, physical health, and shedding old expectations that no longer serve

LINKS & RESOURCES:

📩 Join the weekly newsletter: enneagramfive.com/newsletter
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🗒️ Full transcript and show notes: enneagramfive.com/59

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

How do the holidays land for you as a Five? What do you want to carry into next year, and what are you ready to leave behind? Drop a comment in the community and keep the conversation going.

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➡️ #27: Subtypes

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Fives grow up believing self-reliance is safety, but what happens when that belief turns into a voice that's constantly whispering you’re better off alone?

In this episode, we go deep into the tension between independence and connection, the pain of carrying unmet childhood needs into adulthood, and what happens when life forces you to confront the stories you’ve been living inside without even knowing it. Josiah opens up about one of the hardest seasons of his life: marriage struggles, identity unraveling, and the terrifying question of whether he’s built a life he actually chose.

We explore what happens when a Five’s inner narrative collides with real relationships, why “being alone” feels like the solution even when it isn’t, and how to move forward when there’s no clear answer.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The Voice That Says “You’re Better Off Alone” – Where it comes from, why it feels so true, and how childhood patterns shape it.
• Transparency vs Vulnerability – The difference between talking about what you’ve been through and sharing what you’re in right now.
• When Healing Creates New Tension – How growth can surface problems you’ve been avoiding for years.
• Positive vs Negative Sentiment Override – Why the same situation can feel totally different depending on your internal state.
• Marriage, Identity, and the Fear of Choosing Wrong – What happens when you’re 40 and forced to question everything you built.
• Loneliness vs Aloneness – The difference between feeling isolated and actually being on your own for the first time.
• Writing Your Own Story – Learning when to stop calculating and start living.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

📊 Take the Fully Five Quiz: enneagramfive.com/quiz
📩 Join the weekly newsletter: enneagramfive.com/newsletter
💬 Join the community: enneagramfive.com/community
🗒️ Full transcript and show notes: enneagramfive.com/58

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

📢 Do you ever feel like you’re “better off alone”? How does that voice show up for you as a Five? Share your story inside the community—we’d love to hear it.

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***

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➡️ #27: Subtypes

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Has anyone ever told you that you’re not really a Five?

In this episode, Cody stages an intervention (armed with four years of transcripts, Enneagram books, and a surprising analysis from ChatGPT) to settle an ongoing debate: Is Josiah actually a Five… or a Three in disguise?

What starts as a lighthearted experiment turns into one of the most personal and revealing conversations we’ve ever had about identity, burnout, belonging, and what it really means to grow beyond your type.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The “ChatGPT Experiment” – Cody feeds 35 episodes into AI to find out what type Josiah really is.
• Public Speculation – Why some in the Enneagram community doubt Josiah’s Five-ness.
• The Case for Type Three – Guest Corey joins to make his argument and share what he sees from the outside.
• Josiah’s Turning Point – How getting demoted, hiring a life coach, and confronting his inner critic reshaped everything.
• Social Fives vs. Threes – What looks similar on the surface but feels completely different underneath.
• The Fully Five Origin Story – How years of burnout led Josiah to create a community for Fives who want more from life.
• The Real Motivation – Why freedom, not recognition, drives Josiah, and how that might be the most Five thing of all.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

📩 Join the newsletter: enneagramfive.com/newsletter
💬 Join the community: enneagramfive.com/community
🗒️ Full transcript & show notes: enneagramfive.com/57

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

📢 Do you think Josiah is really a Five, or could he be a Three in disguise? Let us know in the community!

TAKE THE FULLY FIVE QUIZ:

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***

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➡️ #27: Subtypes

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Fives are proud of being “smart.” But what if that thing we trust most is also the thing holding us back?

In this episode, we talk about the difference between intellect and intelligence, and why Fives tend to obsess over one while ignoring the other. We get into why being analytical can make you feel powerful but also isolated, emotionally numb, disconnected from your body, and limited in real life. We also share how we’ve been building other forms of intelligence like emotional awareness, body awareness, social intuition, and even a sense of connection to the world around us.

We look at how these other kinds of intelligence change creativity, connection, confidence, and energy. And why, as Fives, learning to trust them can be a bigger unlock than getting “smarter.”

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Intellect vs. Intelligence — We break down why intellect (analysis, logic, problem-solving) is just one slice of a much bigger system of intelligence. We talk about how Fives overuse that one tool and what it costs us.
• “I’m a Genius… and an Idiot” — Josiah shares how his high IQ scores gave him confidence but also blinded him to other ways of knowing. We explore why being clever can actually hold us back from growing wiser.
• Emotional, Body, and Social Intelligence — We explore what it means to reconnect with our emotions, tune into our bodies, and build social intuition — and how those neglected forms of intelligence help us feel more alive and connected.
• Overthinking, Intuition, and Letting Go — We look at how over-analysis kills momentum, why intuition deserves more trust, and what happens when you stop trying to think your way through everything and start experiencing your way forward.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

📩 Join the weekly newsletter: enneagramfive.com/newsletter
💬 Join the community: enneagramfive.com/community
🗒️ Full transcript and show notes: enneagramfive.com/56
🎬 The Princess Bride (1987) – “Battle of Wits” scene reference

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

What kind of intelligence have you undervalued in yourself because it didn’t feel “smart enough”? Has that cost you anything in your real life (energy, relationships, confidence, or momentum)?

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• Personalized for you – No generic advice.
• Actionable & practical – Clear next steps.

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***

JOIN THE FULLY FIVE ACCELERATOR (FFA):

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➡️ #27: Subtypes

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Hard work is a virtue… until it becomes a trap.

In this episode, we explore how Fives relate to hard work, motivation, and the stories we’ve inherited about what effort should look like. We unpack our personal histories (lazy labels, blue-collar expectations, engineering hacks, and chronic fatigue) and how all of that shaped our relationship to discipline and purpose.

We also dive deep into the myth of "working smarter not harder,” the allure of flow state, and the surprising ways hard work can become a source of love, not just labor.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Strategic Laziness — How Fives use systems, automation, and over-engineering to avoid work… and why that’s not always a bad thing.
• Hard Work as Avoidance — Why we sidestep tasks that feel like a grind, and how that resistance often masks deeper fears.
• The Flow State Trap — How chasing peak performance can become its own form of procrastination.
• Redefining Discipline — Moving from obligation to alignment, and why discipline matters even when inspiration doesn't show up.
• Motivation Through Meaning — How caring for others (and ourselves) gives effort a new purpose, from parenting to partnership to podcasting.
• The Work of Love — What diapers, depression, and doing the laundry taught us about what love actually is.
• From Avoidance to Integration — How doing the hard emotional work helped us stop running and start liking ourselves.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

📩 Join the weekly newsletter: enneagramfive.com/newsletter
💬 Join the community: enneagramfive.com/community
🗒️ Full transcript and show notes: enneagramfive.com/55
📚 Books mentioned:
• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• The Creative Way by Seth Haines

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

📢 What’s your relationship to hard work as a Five?
Do you avoid it? Chase flow state? Redefine it?
Share your story with us in the community!

TAKE THE FULLY FIVE QUIZ:

A 5-minute clarity check-in for Enneagram Fives that gives you a precise snapshot of your inner landscape so you can track where you are and choose your next move intentionally.

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• Actionable & practical – Clear next steps.

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***

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➡️ #27: Subtypes

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Fives crave clarity, but expectations make everything fuzzy.

In this episode, we wrestle with how expectations shape our creative process, our friendships, and our self‑story—often without us noticing. We start with the behind‑the‑scenes saga of trying (for the third time!) to record this conversation, then follow the thread into dread before hitting “record,” unspoken agreements in friendship, and how TV taught many of us what relationships “should” look like. Along the way, we share small shifts that reduce spiral time and increase real connection.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• When Expectations Jam Creativity – How pre‑loading a conversation with “it has to be great” creates dread, stalls energy, and makes us over‑analyze instead of talk.
• Friendship Without Guesswork – The cost of unspoken expectations (e.g., slow replies, differing communication rhythms) and the relief of naming needs directly.
• Seeing Yourself Through Someone Else’s Eyes – How imagining others’ perceptions fuels spirals—and simple checks to return to reality.
• Independence Isn’t the Goal – Moving from “don’t burden anyone” to chosen interdependence: sharing burdens to build connection, not to outsource regulation.
• TV-Trained Expectations – The West Wing, Friends, Scrubs, The O.C.—how pop culture scripts set unrealistic standards for friendship, family, and community.
• Proximity and Belonging – Why neighbors and repeated contact create the “just walk in” ease so many Fives want—and how to cultivate it on purpose.
• Comparison, Career, and Age – Spotting the Instagram version of other people’s lives, reframing late starts, and noticing what you actually prioritized.

LINKS & RESOURCES:
📩 Join the weekly newsletter: enneagramfive.com/newsletter
💬 Join the community: enneagramfive.com/community
🗒️ Full transcript and show notes: enneagramfive.com/54

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
What expectation are you ready to drop this week, of yourself or someone else? Tell us what shifts when you name it in the community.

TAKE THE FULLY FIVE QUIZ:

A 5-minute clarity check-in for Enneagram Fives that gives you a precise snapshot of your inner landscape so you can track where you are and choose your next move intentionally.

• Fast & free – 5 minute quiz, instant results.
• Personalized for you – No generic advice.
• Actionable & practical – Clear next steps.

➡️ Tap here to take the quiz now

***

JOIN THE FULLY FIVE ACCELERATOR (FFA):

Break free from observer mode with a proven growth framework and the weekly support of people who truly understand how your Five brain works.

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➡️ #27: Subtypes

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In this live episode, we dig into a common belief about Fives that seems flattering on the surface but gets more complicated the deeper you go. We talk about what listening actually looks like for us, why presence is harder than it seems, and how emotional bandwidth plays into the equation.

We also share what’s been lighting up our curiosity lately (spoiler: it includes alien documentaries, tornado footage, and an obsessive dive into Pokémon Emerald), and debate a Would You Rather that pits emotional exposure against slow internet. It got intense.

To wrap things up, we reflect on where we’ve been growing (and where we’ve been hiding) and what happens when we stop waiting for the perfect conditions and just show up.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Red, Yellow, Green – COVID recovery, job burnout, and existential aging
• Current Curiosities – Pokémon stats, weather disasters, and the nerdy joys of lighting setups
• Myth Busting – The difference between appearing to listen and actually being present
• Would You Rather – Hourly emotional check-ins or research with throttled internet? You have to pick.
• Growth vs. Comfort – Hosting with no agenda, launching without overthinking, and saying yes before everything feels safe

LINKS & RESOURCES:

🚀 Join the Fully Five Accelerator: enneagramfive.com/ffa
📩 Join the weekly newsletter: enneagramfive.com/newsletter
💬 Join the community: enneagramfive.com/community
🗒️ Full transcript and show notes: enneagramfive.com/53

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Do you consider yourself a good listener as a Five? What makes it easier (or harder) for you to stay present in conversation? Come share your experience in the community.

TAKE THE FULLY FIVE QUIZ:

A 5-minute clarity check-in for Enneagram Fives that gives you a precise snapshot of your inner landscape so you can track where you are and choose your next move intentionally.

• Fast & free – 5 minute quiz, instant results.
• Personalized for you – No generic advice.
• Actionable & practical – Clear next steps.

➡️ Tap here to take the quiz now

***

JOIN THE FULLY FIVE ACCELERATOR (FFA):

Break free from observer mode with a proven growth framework and the weekly support of people who truly understand how your Five brain works.

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RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE:

➡️ #27: Subtypes

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SAY THANKS:

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Fives often imagine themselves outside of time, but aging has a way of forcing us back into reality.

In this episode, we explore how Fives experience getting older—from bodies that don’t bounce back the way they used to, to the existential weight of midlife, to the surprising hope that comes with perspective. We share stories about family, health, autonomy, and regret, but also about the freedom, wisdom, and community that emerge when you stop trying to outrun time.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The Rift Between Mind and Body – Why our inner age often feels younger than our actual age, and how the body reminds us otherwise.
• Facing Mortality – From fears of losing parents to confronting our own decline, what aging stirs up for Fives.
• Autonomy and Midlife Crisis – How delayed gratification can turn into foregone gratification, and why midlife forces us to re-evaluate.
• Regrets and Religious Conditioning – How past choices shaped our thirties, and what it means to soften instead of harden as we grow older.
• Community and Connection – Why relationships, novelty, and shared experiences keep us alive and vibrant.
• Hope for the Future – Stories of resilience, learning to take care of ourselves, and what we’re actually looking forward to in our forties and beyond.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

📩 Join the weekly newsletter: enneagramfive.com/newsletter
💬 Join the community: enneagramfive.com/community
🗒️ Full transcript and show notes: enneagramfive.com/52

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

📢 What’s your experience of getting older as a Five? Do you feel younger in your mind than in your body, or the other way around? Drop a comment in the community!

TAKE THE FULLY FIVE QUIZ:

A 5-minute clarity check-in for Enneagram Fives that gives you a precise snapshot of your inner landscape so you can track where you are and choose your next move intentionally.

• Fast & free – 5 minute quiz, instant results.
• Personalized for you – No generic advice.
• Actionable & practical – Clear next steps.

➡️ Tap here to take the quiz now

***

JOIN THE FULLY FIVE ACCELERATOR (FFA):

Break free from observer mode with a proven growth framework and the weekly support of people who truly understand how your Five brain works.

🚀 ​See if you're ready for FFA

***

RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE:

➡️ #27: Subtypes

***

CONNECT:

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SAY THANKS:

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