One of the things I love about coaching is having the beautiful opportunity to witness someone's transformation. It's so amazing to see the empowerment that comes from seeing yourself and your life from a new perspective.

Today, I want to share the transformational story of a client that recently completed my 6-month Everyday Embodiment program.

Self-care is essential for everyone. But for introverts, self-care is KEY because the world is designed to support extroverts, not introverts.

While extroverts are recharged by being social and around others, introverts are drained by too much socializing. To recharge and feel refreshed, introverts need to spend time alone.

It's easy for introverts to find themselves overwhelmed because of the fast-paced nature of society, the constant push to be surrounded by others, and the ever-increasing noise that surrounds us each day.

Back when I worked a corporate 9-5 job, the team I worked on would gather for an annual Summit to map out projects for the following year. This was a multi-day event where they'd essentially sequester us at some off-the-grid hotel. That meant breakfast, lunch, and dinner were eaten together (along with full days of meetings!).

It was exhausting.

I liked my coworkers, but by the time dinner rolled around, the last thing I wanted was to eat dinner with them!! I would've much preferred to order room service and enjoy a quiet dinner by myself in my room while enjoying a movie of my choice.

I needed that time to recharge to have sufficient energy for the next full day of meetings.

Introversion gets a bad rap.

Society has a deep misunderstanding of what it means to be introverted, which means there's a TON of misguided social conditioning that reinforces this lack of understanding.

So, if you're an introvert, it can feel challenging to see it as something that's actually a good thing! In fact, many introverts see it as a disadvantage and something they need to overcome (which is SO not true!).

As introverts, accepting our quiet nature and independent spirits can be challenging. But unfortunately, society tends to misunderstand what it means to be an introvert and paints the picture of being an introvert as a lot more gloomy than the reality.

Being an introvert is actually an amazing way to be!

I'm a hardcore introvert, and I LOVE my independent nature and the fact that I thoroughly enjoy my own company. I love my insatiable curiosity and desire to get to know others on a deeper level. And I think it's incredibly cool that my quiet nature tends to make others feel calm.

Feeling confident as an introvert can feel challenging when you've spent your life bombarded with the message that your very nature isn't in line with what's preferred by our extrovert-biased society.

Because of misguided external conditioning, many introverts spend their lives pretending to be more extroverted because they believe that will get them ahead.

But, spending your energy trying to be something you're not is rooted in a lack of confidence.

Listen up, introverts! Being an introvert isn't bad, and you don't need to strive to be more extroverted.

One of my biggest pet peeves is hearing introverts think they're being extroverted in situations where they feel more confident! This bugs me because it implies introversion is a weakness that needs overcoming. And nothing could be further from the truth!

If you haven't noticed, we live in a very extrovert-biased society (feels exhausting just typing that!). So it can be hard to feel confident and stand your ground as an introvert in a world that feels designed for the more outgoing social butterflies.

But! Being an introvert is a true asset, and here's why...

From my personal experience (and that of my clients!), many introverts try to fake-it-til-they-make it (ugh!) by pretending to be more extroverted. No shame if you do this too because that is what we learned and, for a long time....it's all we've known to do.