Before you dive into today’s blog, close your eyes, take a deep breath and thank yourself. You’ve spent a month now learning about your personality preference for extroversion or introversion, and your dedication merits congratulations: You are moving forward. If you have begun to pay more attention to your reenergizing needs by incorporating activities into your life that support your preference, give yourself another pat on the back. Every step forward – each commitment you make that brings you closer toward accomplishing your goals – is worth celebrating, however small the pass may be. So take a moment to appreciate your successes so far, and remember to share them with your fans.

Your reenergizing preference for extroversion or introversion is the first of your five personality preferences that guide three main areas of your life: how you reenergize, how you make decisions and how you communicate. Your reenergizing preference represents the first key in deciphering your life code, which is made up of letters that symbolize the five personality preferences. Knowing whether you are E or I – extroverted or introverted – and bringing your behavior in line with your preference is a recipe for providing yourself additional creative energy.

Remember, creative energy is the kind of energy that inspires fresh solutions and new ideas for achieving your goals. It’s energy that engenders innovation in your personal and professional life, it’s the kind of energy that can jolt you from a static place and help you get unstuck.

So as we move forward in learning about our other personality preferences, remember that the amount of energy you have available to dedicate to this process will depend largely on how you manage your energy supply. Make time for extroverted or introverted activities that will recharge your batteries and replenish your creative energy coffers. You’ll have what it takes to get to know your true self and make your goals a reality.

What do you think?

Coach Paul
www.lifechangingcoaching.com

“And if your home is just another place where you’re a stranger, and far away is just somewhere you’ve never been. I hope that you’ll remember, I am your friend.”

Exploring your personality preferences is a personal journey – one that may lead you to view yourself and your world very differently by its end. Your exploration may be personal and unique, but I encourage you not to take this journey alone. Bring along your loved ones or your fan club members.

You need others to move forward in life, so share your personal journey into your preferences and what they mean for you, your work and your relationships. By sharing this experience, your belongings – friends, family and significant others – will better understand the changes you make in your life, and they’ll have the information they need to support you. Without this communication, you risk alienating the very people who could provide much-needed support on your journey forward. Your loved ones may question the changes you make to bring your identity in line with your personality. Explain the why behind the what, so that they don’t take the changes personally. If you are an extrovert and begin to engage in more social activities to recharge your batteries, take care to explain to your spouse or partner why you are seeking more social interaction. If you are an introvert, and begin to allot more time to solitary activities to reenergize yourself, let your spouse or partner know why. By including them in your experiences and explaining your motivations to them, you’ll help your loved ones get to know you – and maybe themselves – better.

Open communication doesn’t come easy for all of us, particularly for introverts who prefer to process thoughts and feelings internally. Still, I encourage you to invest time in verbalizing your experiences with those people who support you unconditionally – the people I call your fans. At the same time, give yourself permission not to share your journey with people who for a variety of reasons may not be supportive no matter how much you share or try to explain. Those people represent toxic friendships and relationships, and their negativity should be avoided.

Your true fans will want the best for you, so let them know what best means – whether it’s more dedication to extroverted or introverted activities or other changes you make as you continue to learn more about your personality preferences. Your true supporters will thank you for inviting them along for the ride.

What do you think?

Coach Paul
www.lifechangingcoaching.com

“And if your home is just another place where you’re a stranger, and far away is just somewhere you’ve never been. I hope that you’ll remember, I am your friend.”

Once you know what you need to reenergize based on your preference for extroversion or introversion, it’s time to take action. You may think: My schedule is so full already, how can I squeeze in another activity? The good news is that with a little creativity and commitment, it’s possible to work reenergizing time into even the busiest of personal calendars. Remember, when you take time to recharge your batteries, you gain energy for everything else in your life, including your relationships and your goals.

So how do you make time where it seems there is none?

To start, for both extroverts and introverts, the process requires (1) planning and (2) commitment to making a change. For example, if you are an extrovert and you want to join a soccer league, you will need to search for the league that fits your needs and sign up. That’s the planning part. Then you will need to show up regularly for practices and games. That’s the commitment part. If you are an introvert, planning is admittedly easier, given that your activities will be solitary. However, the commitment part may require more careful attention, since you alone will hold yourself accountable. That’s why I recommend scheduling your reenergizing time in your datebook or PDA – even if your activity is an introverted one, like reading a book or writing.

Your commitment to making a change may mean you have to give something else up. It may require you alter a daily habit, spend less time with someone who demands too much of your time, or pass on a project at work that could be handled by someone else. You can also be creative about this. Perhaps you can turn a weekly errand into a reenergizing activity: Make your daily coffee run an excuse to interact with other people if you’re an extrovert or, if you’re an introvert, make grocery shopping an introverted activity by shopping online.

There are loads of excuses you can use to avoid dedicating time to reenergizing activities. But if you choose excuses over action, you also choose the status quo – and that’s where you’ll stay until you decide to make a change. When you are ready to move forward, make the time to reenergize. Time spent reenergizing is truly an investment: It will pay off by making your responsibilities seem lighter and your goals easier to achieve because you’ll have ample energy to accomplish them. Those are returns you won’t want to miss.

What do you think?

Coach Paul
www.lifechangingcoaching.com

“And if your home is just another place where you’re a stranger, and far away is just somewhere you’ve never been. I hope that you’ll remember, I am your friend.”