Insight: Reflections on the Gifts of Being an Introvert
By Beth Buelow
3/5
()
About this ebook
Have you ever been called shy or awkward? How about anti-social?
People are quick to apply these labels to the quieter among us, often with little understanding of what they truly mean. And they often indicate a profound misunderstanding about what it means to be an introvert. Truth is, men and women with a reflective, more inward style have hidden strengths that are often lost in our noisy world.
Beth Buelow is on a mission to change that. Known around the globe as The Introvert Entrepreneur, Beth is an author, speaker and professional coach dedicated to helping introverts understand and embrace their unique gifts.
In this book, she weaves personal stories with wit and wisdom to explore the unique energy that comes along with introversion. Already, it has helped thousands of readers and won rave reviews.
As one fan wrote, "The most precious nugget I am taking away is permission to be who I am and how I am - without apology. What a relief to sink freely into the comfortable, introverted essence of myself and be okay with it!"
Comprised of short, bite-size essays, Insights is an affirming, thought-provoking companion on your journey.
Beth Buelow
Beth Buelow is known as The Introvert Entrepreneur to a global community of followers and fans. As a certified professional coach and a skilled interviewer, writer, facilitator and speaker, she's recognized as a thought leader in the area of life and leadership coaching for introverts. Beth is on a mission to empower introverts to understand, own and leverage their natural strengths. She is certified by the International Coach Federation. a Living Your Vision® Licensed Facilitator, and is an active member of the Puget Sound Coaches Association and the Society for Human Resource Management. Beth has enjoyed sharing her message that "Success is an Inside Job!" with numerous organizations and corporations, including Boeing, Starbucks, Peterson Sullivan, Puget Sound Business Journal, eWomenNetworking, Ignite Seattle and the Puget Sound American Marketing Association, among others. She's contributed to blogs and articles in print and online for Psychology Today, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, Crain's Business Chicago, Seattle Times, Biznik and The Coaching Commons, among others. Her extremely popular podcast, The Introvert Entrepreneur, features interviews with well-known and emerging introvert entrepreneurs, including Susan Cain, Nancy Ancowitz, Laurie Helgoe and Viveka Von Rosen, as well as experts in social media, marketing and sales, personal growth and networking. Beth's individual voice comes out of her experiences as a personal coach, classical musician, arts administrator, nonprofit professional and entrepreneur.
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Reviews for Insight
9 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sometimes the book is a bit superficial, but because the majority of the text is recognizable it does give insight into the introverts daily struggles. Couldn't resist the urge to laugh...Suggested reading is at the end of the book. I read this book in one go and will read it again from time to time..
Book preview
Insight - Beth Buelow
Insight: Reflections on the Gifts of Being an Introvert
by Beth L. Buelow
First Smashwords Edition, copyright 2012
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All hyperlinks were accurate at the time of publication (July 2012).
For Andy, my favorite introvert.
I love you.
CONTENTS
Author’s Note
Part One: What It Means to be an Introvert
1: The Secret Life Of Introverts
2: Can We Stop with the Introvert=Shy
Already?
3: I Am Introvert, Hear Me Roar!
4: You Wanna Piece of Me? The Fierce Introvert
5: No Introversion, Denied!
6: Rise of the Introvert
7: Speaking Introvert: Becoming Personality Bilingual
8: Can Being an Introvert Help You Overcome Shyness?
9: Table for One, Please
10: 7.5 Reasons I’m Grateful to be an Introvert
Part Two: Life as an Introvert Entrepreneur
11: You Miss Every Shot You Don’t Take
12: Quiet Cultivation: Introverts as Leaders
13: 4 Ways to Keep the Lifeblood From Being Sucked Out of You at Events
14: How to Kick Your Analysis by Paralysis Addiction
15: The Introvert Entrepreneur or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Telephone
16: How to Know When Two Heads Would Be Better Than One
17: What the Eiffel Tower Teaches Us About Process
18: You Must Be Present to Win: Networking for the Introvert Entrepreneur
Part Three: Miscellanea
19: Weaving in Your Spirit String
20: Life Lessons From the Lake
21: What to do When You Have a Yucky, Mucky, Sucky Day
22: How to Eat an Elephant
23: Why Fake It ‘Til You Make It
is Bad Advice
24: How to Stop Thinking and Start Living
25: Don’t Tell Me to Step Outside My Comfort Zone
26: What I’ll Never Say Just Do It
Ever Again
27: It Really IS a Conspiracy
28: You Know You’re an Introvert When…
About the Author
Further Reading
Author’s Note
My favorite kind of books are those that offer me a bit of inspiration combined with information I can use. They include humor alongside the profound, pragmatism up against imagination.
Above all, they challenge me to see myself and my world differently.
I like bite-sized chapters that allow me to browse and get just the right dose of information before I'm off to the next thing (usually falling asleep!).
That's the idea behind Insight: Reflections on the Gifts of Being an Introvert.
It's a compilation of pieces that speak specifically to the introvert, mixed in with topics that are more general but still interesting to anyone who wants to deepen his or her self-awareness.
My wish for everyone - especially introverts - is that we all live in alignment with our natural energy and strengths.
I hope you find this book an affirming, thought-provoking companion on your journey.
Beth L. Buelow, July 2012
Part One:
What It Means
to Be an Introvert
To be a soulful person
means to go against all the pervasive,
prove-yourself values of our culture
and instead treasure
what is unique and internal
and valuable in yourself
and your own personal evolution.
~ Jean Shinoda Bolen
1| The Secret Life of Introverts
Painfully shy.
Low self-esteem.
No self-confidence.
No social skills.
Afraid of people.
And yes, a loser.
How do I even survive in the world, if this is what people think of introverts!
These were just a few of the words a good friend used to describe an introvert
when I asked him to define one. He even referred to it as something that may need to be fixed.
Now, I love my friend dearly. He is incredibly smart, aware and mature. However, on this point, he’s completely 110% wrong.
Once I set him straight (and as nice as I can be, I can definitely set someone straight), I recognized that a large part of the reason I feel called to specialize in coaching introverts is because we are a misunderstood, stereotyped bunch. There are stories about introverts – ones made up by others, ones we make up about ourselves – that can hold us back in a predominantly extroverted world. I wish to empower every introvert I know to understand, own and leverage the gifts and strengths that come with being inwardly focused.
What is an introvert? According to the Jung Lexicon, introversion is a mode of psychological orientation where the movement of energy is toward the inner world.
So, what does that mean? In simple terms, it means that an introvert is someone who gains energy when alone and drains energy when around too many people.
An introvert can be, as one of my friends puts it, happy as pie
spending time alone. An extrovert is likely to become bored or lonely after 15 minutes of solitude.
Other introvert traits and preferences include (this is a generalized list; there as many different variations and levels of introversion as there are introverts):
Think carefully before speaking or acting
Prefer to express feelings in writing rather than talking
Excellent listeners
Have a selected few deep, close friendships
Dislike small talk
Enjoy self-reflection and introspection
Can have different public and private personas
It’s that last one that trips people up the most. Anytime I’ve mentioned I’m an introvert, I almost always hear No way! I never would have guessed.
It’s not that I’m a split personality or that what you see in public is not the real
me. It’s simply that over time, I’ve learned to manage my energy to match the situation. I know how to be super social or spontaneous and still take care of myself and my needs.
All of us, no matter what our orientation, have elements of introversion and extroversion. In my case, it’s a dial by which I can turn the volume up or down as I wish, and my dial default is several notches towards introversion.
One point I want to be crystal clear about: claiming the word introvert
is not about slapping a label on you, or putting you into this little box. It’s about having another piece of information that can help you understand yourself better, to help you be true to yourself.
If you’re an extrovert, you may be asking, Hey, what about me? Where’s the love?
Rest assured, I love you, too. ;-) My mission as a coach, writer, teacher and personal development fanatic is to facilitate self-understanding and empower people to trust their truth. While I may use the word introvert
a lot, that doesn’t mean that extroverts won’t find value, meaning and insight in my message.
Return to Table of Contents
2| Can