THE POWER OF INTROVERTS

I watched a ted talk this morning by Susan Cain, author of the best selling book Quiet; The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking. 

She was talking about how our society today, our school systems, the way many work places are run, are all designed to make us more outgoing, more collaborative, more extroverted because we learn as we grow up that taking action, being outgoing, loud and busy is the way to succeed in life. And so people who are naturally more introverted or highly sensitive may feel pushed to be and do more more than what feels natural to them, because if not we somehow believe that we are "failing" or not being or doing enough... 

So if you're an extrovert, fantastic. Be an extrovert and to be honest (although I think everyone needs more Yin in their life to tune-in, relax, nurture and care for themselves), my blog may not quite resonate with you because you may not have the same need for calm in your life. But if you're an introvert or ambivert like me (someone who is social and enjoys being an extrovert but needs a lot of me-time to re-charge), then I want to encourage you to allow yourself the time and space that you need to be you. 

It also go me thinking about how I can better support my son because he is an introvert who enjoys time to just sit and play or read quietly beside us after a long day playing at nursery. Sometimes I feel we "should" be doing this or that because it's expected or what the neighbours or our friends are doing. But he is happy so why would I push him to do something that isn't him? I think that if we can learn to respect our own needs as an individual and as a family, we create much less stress in our lives and we are naturally supporting the truth of who we really are. And as Susan says in her talk, often the greatest insights, ideas and solutions come when we tune in to ourselves, sit with our own thoughts and calm the noise around us... 

So what are you doing today (this could be your job, your hobbies, social settings) that you do because somehow along the way you believed that this is what you "should" be doing? What do you want to do more or less of in your life to support who you really are?

Love & Light

P.S. Here is a link to the Ted Talk if you want to watch something very inspiring; 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0KYU2j0TM4