Today I got way out of my comfort zone and did a Facebook live about ‘showing up’. Now lots of you know that I’m a trainer and coach so why do I find this so challenging? Face to face is my territory of choice not speaking to a camera lens and an imagined audience. But the bigger problem is the ability to review, scrutinise and ultimately critique my ‘performance’. The irony isn’t lost on me that I had to show up to talk about showing up! But show up I did!
So, what do I mean by showing up? It’s a phrase we hear frequently these days and all too often it seems like it’s for someone else’s benefit. It’s not pretending to be something you’re not, and it’s certainly not trying to be more extraverted.
The mission behind Flourishing Introverts is to enable Introverts to show up for themselves, as themselves. This means being all that we can be and being prepared to stand alone with dignity. When we learn to do that, our gifts become more visible, noticed and valued by others.
So where do we start? The first steps are owning, valuing and using our inner-powers without apology – to ourselves or others. Most introverts that I work with have a sense of their skills and qualities but don’t see them as gifts so don’t value them either. How can we expect others to value what we don’t value ourselves? A skills audit is a great place to start here.
We need to notice when our tendency to diminish our gifts kicks in so that we can hold ourselves accountable in that moment; check our language, body language and behaviour. This enables us to become fully present again. Most introverts are pretty good at reflecting and we’ve found that its really beneficial to have a daily practice of gratitude and positive reflection, leading to reflexivity later on. If you don’t have that practice yet, begin now.
We also need to replenish sufficiently well for whatever is coming next. Being fully resourced is essential for being our best selves. Spend some time getting clear on what you need, really need, to be at your best then create ways to get those needs met as much as possible. Ok yes, I know we have busy lives juggling many balls and spinning many plates at the same time. But I have to ask you, “how important is showing up or flourishing, to you and your goals/dreams?”
If it is important to you, be true to yourself
and be that lone poppy that others notice and value.
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