Episode 324
Intentional Action by Prioritizing You for Professional Growth
In this episode of "The Traveling Introvert," host Janice Chaka explores the reasons why introverts often delay investing in themselves professionally and the potential consequences that arise from this hesitation. Janice discusses how many introverts struggle with self-confidence, fear of judgment, and a tendency to prioritize the needs of others over their own growth and development. This selfless mindset often leads to delayed investments in personal and professional growth, which can result in missed career opportunities, stagnation, and reduced job satisfaction. Janice emphasizes the importance of consistently investing in oneself and offers strategies for overcoming barriers and prioritizing self-care. She also addresses common reasons people back out of investing in themselves, such as self-doubt and imposter syndrome, and encourages listeners to do the necessary inner work to overcome these challenges.
🔑 Key Takeaways:
- Overthinking and fear of judgment can lead to paralysis and delays in investing in oneself.
- Waiting until a crisis occurs can lead to missed career opportunities and uncertainty about financial stability.
- Prioritizing personal and professional growth, setting aside time for self-care, and seeking mentorship are crucial steps for success.
Transcript
Hello, and welcome to the traveling Introvert. Today I want to talk
Speaker:about why people delay in
Speaker:investing professionally in themselves as well as there's potential
Speaker:consequences. So one of the things that happens a lot is I'll
Speaker:get people reach out to me, they're followed by work, they know who
Speaker:I am, we have a little chat and then they kind of
Speaker:back out. And I get various reasons. But the key thing is here
Speaker:are a few of the reasons that stay true with everyone no matter what it
Speaker:is they're saying. There is
Speaker:sometimes some self doubt and impostor syndrome in
Speaker:there because they might struggle with feeling unworthy
Speaker:or inadequate. And so they don't deserve to go
Speaker:ahead and put sort
Speaker:of stock into bettering themselves professionally. They might feel it's a
Speaker:them problem, but they don't necessarily want to do the inner work
Speaker:to fix it. And this can hinder their confidence to invest in
Speaker:themselves and pursue professional growth opportunities. They
Speaker:might think that the might be judged or
Speaker:criticized. The fear of being evaluated
Speaker:or perceived negatively can hold them back. There's so many times that I've heard people
Speaker:say well, I can't have this as a line item for my boss. I can't
Speaker:have impostor syndrome coaching as a line item to give to my boss. I can't
Speaker:have introvert coaching as a line item to my boss. It has to be
Speaker:covered and masked as leadership coaching
Speaker:or professional growth or insert thing here to be more
Speaker:palatable for the culture that the are working
Speaker:in. The other thing can be overthinking and analysis
Speaker:paralysis, sort of deeply analyzing
Speaker:situations and options can lead to
Speaker:overthinking and then not making an actual
Speaker:decision. The overthinking can cause delays
Speaker:in investing in themselves. So many people this is so common.
Speaker:People won't invest in themselves until it's too
Speaker:late, when they've already been let go, when they already
Speaker:need to look for a new job. Instead of just interviewing all
Speaker:the time, you should always be interviewing. You don't know what's out there, you don't
Speaker:know what dream job might pop up, you don't know what the rates are as
Speaker:far as salary is concerned if you're not out there interviewing. You don't make good
Speaker:relationships with recruiters if you're not out there interviewing. But
Speaker:I notice a lot of people just kind of wait until the shoe drops and
Speaker:they're like oh, I need to do this thing. Oh, but I'm not sure where
Speaker:my money is coming from. So I shouldn't invest in myself. Yes, you should
Speaker:always be investing in yourself all the time.
Speaker:Another thing is
Speaker:sort of they want to
Speaker:prioritize others over themselves. Putting
Speaker:themselves first as an introvert might be
Speaker:hard. They prioritize the needs and well being of
Speaker:others. Hence they will deal with back to back to back meetings even though it
Speaker:is draining for them and normally it is at the expense of their own growth
Speaker:and development. The selfless mindset can result
Speaker:in delaying an investments of themselves, both professionally and
Speaker:personally. And this leads to delayed
Speaker:growth. I've had managers come to me saying, I know that
Speaker:this person needs coaching, but they're not open to coaching because they don't
Speaker:think they need it. They have an outside external source that is willing to pay
Speaker:for it, that is willing to help them and guide them. But they won't do
Speaker:it because of fear or because they don't think they
Speaker:need it, or because they don't have enough time, because they're overwhelmed, because they are
Speaker:not managing their time and their energy well enough to be able
Speaker:to take that time and prioritize personal growth. And to be
Speaker:fair, personal growth and professional growth should be on your calendar just as much
Speaker:as meetings that you have one on one with your managers once a week or
Speaker:once a month. You should have that time blocked out
Speaker:anyway. The more and the longer you delay in
Speaker:investing in yourself, be it with in health
Speaker:or in medical or professional growth or personal growth, the longer that you
Speaker:delay, the bigger the missed opportunities
Speaker:it could be. Missed career opportunities, it could be stagnation, reduced
Speaker:job satisfaction, all of it can limit your potential for career
Speaker:advancement. Acquiring new skills and reaching your goals should be something that is
Speaker:just a constant presence in your life, always learning. And
Speaker:it doesn't necessarily have to be direct correlation to your work. But if you are
Speaker:taking an interest in yourself and you are putting yourself first
Speaker:rather than others, you will make the time to watch
Speaker:videos or listen to podcasts to aid your professional and
Speaker:personal growth. It can only be better for
Speaker:you. And one of these
Speaker:things, along with the overthinking and the fear of judgment and
Speaker:putting other people first, means you end up not promoting yourself
Speaker:as well. You find it challenging to showcase your skills and accomplishments
Speaker:because you didn't go ahead and get that help that you
Speaker:needed, whether it's seeking a mentor or asking someone for
Speaker:advice. So please treat yourself
Speaker:like your best client. Recognize your reasons and the potential
Speaker:consequences you should address and overcome those barriers
Speaker:with self awareness, support and intentional action.
Speaker:You can go ahead and put yourself first. Thank you for listening. This is
Speaker:Janice@thecuryintrat.com helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a
