If you are more of an introvert and want to get your voice heard in any business or life situation, the AWAKE #Introvert: How to Go from Fear to Remarkable series could be just for you!
Over at Periscope and even Facebook live, on most Fridays, you’ll be able to participate in the conversation of the AWAKE formula.
Or maybe you want to sit, listen and reflect and are quite satisfied with other viewers live, in the background. You can do this on Twitter! If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll get my Tweet announcing the live stream is going.
In using what could be a meaningful introvert acrostic, you can discover:
AWAKE #Introvert: How to Go from Fear to Remarkable
A = Affirm yourself.
There are likely, hopefully, days when you know and feel the confident you, the
There are likely, hopefully, days when you know and feel the confident you, the capable you, the creative you! It’s important to affirm anything positive that you know to be true about yourself. To have this be effective, then
W = Work from your strengths. 
Too often we work to improve our weaknesses which usually means more energy exertion for us. Why not get clear on your personal strengths and lead with those?
When we act in this way, our strengths help us to navigate any situation more easily. Then as we find the process or the path to get easier, we can decide on what weakness we want to pump up.
A = Act on your healthy introvert habits!
Let’s take a holistic approach to healthy habits covering our mind, body, and spirit. Over time, I’ve learned that what often might work for the more extroverted doesn’t sit so well with the more introverted of us.
Let’s take healthy habits for our body. Years and years ago, along with my extroverted husband, I would sign up for a gym membership. Initially, I would go to work-out with him to work, when it seems everyone else in our community would be there!
It was neither fun nor productive. If you are more of an introvert like me, the last thing we want early in the morning is to have to engage in conversation after conversation. No matter how little eye contact I could muster up, someone I knew, even strangers, would want to talk about – was the equipment available for them, what kind of a routine works best, interest in comparing results.
Who cares? I have a goal; I’m here working on it, and you are interrupting things.
One size does not fit all is important for us to know. When I say this realize, even when I share with you as an introvert what I do, you will hear a few variations because of how unique each of us is. Then, you can work toward the best fit for you in your healthy habits to improve your mind, body, and spirit.
K = Know the myths and believe the truths.
It seemed in high school some people thought I was shy. I believed it. Many of us are called shy, and we might be. I never was. So what might have caused this misconception? The label of introvert plus the term shy might be right, and it could also be wrong. Do we question it? Sometimes not. It’s important that we know what is best suited for us.
My saving grace is I didn’t know until halfway through a sales career that I was an introvert. No one ever told me, sales was not a career to pursue. Interesting that my sales efforts resulted in records, awards, and a promotion to sales manager.
What’s my point?
Sometimes what we know is a myth, can hold the person inside you in fear.
[Tweet “Sometimes what we know that is a myth, can keep the person inside you in fear. #introvert”]
Especially relevant here, if you want to know some of the major myths that might keep you stuck in fear, you’ll find a few previous posts on this blog.
E = Express yourself in every situation.
My guess is there are times we all want our ideas to have a voice. It might be at a meeting, at a family gathering, giving a presentation or talk, dealing with conflict, negotiating, business networking, even selling.
We will cover many situations, in different sessions. Then you can walk into any communications areas and bring the affirmed, confident you. You will both have your voice, and others will hear you.
If you cannot wait until then – maybe you have a presentation coming up soon, or will be attending a family gathering – then there are at least three ways to get the information to speak your voice from the AWAKE you and be heard:
- Maybe you prefer small doses? Subscribe to the blog in the red sign-up box on the home page to get notice of each blog post.
- Get the whole chapter 1 from my business book, at no cost, Communication Toolkit for Introverts, without giving any email or getting on any list, go to https://bit.ly/CTIonPackt and read it at your leisure. It’s free.
- If you want a PDF copy of chapter one’s 15 pages, please share this post, let me know in an email to patricia (@) patricia-weber.com the link that shows where you shared it. I’ll deliver it quickly.
Tease Tip for you: we started with the first A representing affirm yourself.
Recent research found a more powerful way of using affirmations. Remember when parents you admired so much would say to you, “You are going to go places!” “All the world is in front of you for success!” Or it could have been teachers or coaches in your life. One of the findings of the research pointed to the power of using affirmations in the second person or personal name pronoun, over the first person I.
Are you with me?
When I first discovered this research, I realized – I often use it! About midway in my computer sales career, I had unsuccessful in-person attempt to get a follow-up appointment with a prospect. It was humiliating. As I sat in my car seat it occurred to me, there was little chance I would fully show up at the next appointment. To this day I heard myself speaking out loud to myself, “You always give it you best, and now you can do this again!” “You didn’t lose a client; you gained some experience!”
In the research about using You (or your name) versus using I in an affirmation statement, people felt less anxious after the event they were speaking to themselves in that way! The people using “I feel terrific giving it my best in every situation,” had more anxiety.
So you go around speaking to yourself, “I’m not worthy,” “I don’t feel confident.” Then, you change it to “I feel worthy,” “I feel wonderfully confident.” Seems like it might work. But is it any wonder it isn’t believable – even to you?
Instead change it around to “You are truly worthy,” “You are totally confident,” You You You.
As a result of this research, which does not acknowledge introvert or extrovert preferences, this affirmation technique actually can have positive results. So, give it a try the next time you affirm yourself.
Now, I’m looking forward to your questions about any of these introductory points about AWAKE #Introvert: How to Go from Fear to Remarkable
Patricia, all good advice. I’m in total agreement that you’ll achieve more by working to improve your strengths rather than your weaknesses. We can’t be the best at everything so why drive yourself crazy trying to raise your “score” in disciplines where any improvement will only be marginally better.
Thanks Jeannette. I love that likening of trying to raise the score. I appreciate you adding that to this conversation.