Don't Resent Your Introversion

Hello and welcome to the travelling introvert. Today I wanna talk about something that comes up quite often with prospective clients is they come to me and they say, oh my introversion is holding me back. My introversion is stopping me from doing x, y, and z. And it's really interesting how they've come about these thoughts. And a lot of the time, it's because introversion is portrayed negatively in, culture, pop culture, TV. But it's also because of maybe not fully understanding what introversion is or using it as a crutch or using it as an excuse to not do x y and z. And it could be that they just don't embrace how they are, what they need, and then feel comfortable enough asking for those things. And so they feel constrained.

There are a lot of societal pressures and a lot of societal misconceptions. And just like a tree, like an oak tree trying to fit into a flower pot, you as an introvert are bound to feel constrained by those societal pressures and misconceptions. But here's the thing, the more you try to work against your true nature extrovert, introvert, ambivert, in between, whatever it might be, the harder you are making your life and life is on hard mode right now anyway, but when you are fighting against your natural tendencies, it just makes things 10 times harder, More energy is used and wasted. Your potential is wasted. Your creativity, your your having that clear space in your mind to be able to go and do things is hampered by the fact that you are resenting being an introvert and the label that comes with that and the misconceptions and activities that people think about that comes with that. And this is why it's really important to embrace whatever your natural thing is and so when you think about this and embracing your natural nature, what are your natural strengths? Introvert related or otherwise, think about what those are and how you can view your traits as assets. Build yourself a supportive environment. You need to find harmony within yourself so that you can go and move forward in a way that is true for you and life will be much better for you because of it.

And I know that people sort of will say, oh, you're an introvert, you don't like people, or you're an introvert and you can't do x y and z, but there are millions of people in the world. There have been millions of people in the world and they've all achieved great things. Some of them have been extroverts and some of them have been introverts. We've had introvert presidents, we've had introvert queens, we've had introvert kings like introverts can achieve so much because we're just human but we just have to adapt and also embrace our true natural tendencies and go with it. And so, pushing back on those societal expectations by letting people know exactly what introversion is, What that looks like? How that might show up? That introverts under a monolith and just because you know one likes x y and z doesn't mean that all of us like x y and z. And so making sure that you also state what it is you need to be a better human. Be it at work where you're saying, hey, I can't do back to back meetings. I need five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes in between to be able to be present in each meeting and to give my best or I need the agenda in advance or I need insert thing here and speaking up and saying what you need to make sure that you shine as a human that you are.

And also, helping people and also look at it from the other point of view what someone might be thinking and then asking them and clarifying and saying, well, no. Actually, I need it because of this reason. If you want the best out of me and best outcomes, this is what's gonna work. I know myself. I know myself better than you and this is what I need. So, just thinking about that and thinking about taking a step towards embracing your true nature instead of resenting it because you feel it's a constraint when really it is a strength and it it is who you are and what you do and how you do it. And so, think of your traits as assets, build yourself a supportive environment with friends and coaches and mentors and systems that work for you, and then go out there and be the best person you can be. Thank you for listening.

This is Janice at the Career Introvert helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your day and week.