Success Books - "The Introvert Advantage" Part 2
This is Part 2 of my review of Marti Olsen Laney’s The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World. In Part 1 I covered her brilliant exploration of exactly what an introvert personality is like, how we function, see the world, and manage our energy, as well as some basic tips .
Here I am going to cover a few of the wealth of strategies Laney has shared for optimizing our lives as introverts. As I went through the book I could see the “fit” that so many of her concepts had with how I live, and how I could adjust my life to make better use of my energy and abilities.
One core idea of the book is that introverts do not have unlimited energy and have to zealously guard it and renew it.
Some of her ideas:
Set your own pace and tempo. Don’t be afraid to be different in your work style, activity plans, and even the number of projects you do.
Be aware of your daily and hourly energy levels: their timing and strength. Match your work projects to these levels and times.
Be prepared to “pass” on vertain activities and save your energy for the prioritized activities. I view this as a creative, positive activity in itself. If we were to spend part of our planning time eliminating a percentage of our activities, we could generate increased efficiency and focus for the remaining ones.
Continually review your priorities so that you can focus your energy on the key goals of your life.
As I got further into the book, I realized the value of drastically "ratcheting down" the quantity of what I wanted to do. It’s not going to be as much as I thought. But what I do work on has the capacity to be rich, rewarding, unhurried, and gratifying.
Laney goes on to teach us introverts that we have to be aware of our parameters: we cannot let too much into our lives. Since we can be overwhelmed by the outside world, we have to monitor and limit our exposure. Again, the conscious limiting of stimulation should be viewed, not as a failure, but as a positive, creative act enabling accomplishment and inner serenity .
Laney also presents a wealth of strategies for renewing your energy day to day and even hour to hour, and a very helpful chapter on putting on your “extrovert” hat...for a short time.
I am already employing many of her techniques, and for anyone who may think they match the introvert profile, this book may well change your life.
Go to Part 1
Browse all the items we review at the Success Books Store
Here I am going to cover a few of the wealth of strategies Laney has shared for optimizing our lives as introverts. As I went through the book I could see the “fit” that so many of her concepts had with how I live, and how I could adjust my life to make better use of my energy and abilities.
One core idea of the book is that introverts do not have unlimited energy and have to zealously guard it and renew it.
Some of her ideas:
Set your own pace and tempo. Don’t be afraid to be different in your work style, activity plans, and even the number of projects you do.
Be aware of your daily and hourly energy levels: their timing and strength. Match your work projects to these levels and times.
Be prepared to “pass” on vertain activities and save your energy for the prioritized activities. I view this as a creative, positive activity in itself. If we were to spend part of our planning time eliminating a percentage of our activities, we could generate increased efficiency and focus for the remaining ones.
Continually review your priorities so that you can focus your energy on the key goals of your life.
As I got further into the book, I realized the value of drastically "ratcheting down" the quantity of what I wanted to do. It’s not going to be as much as I thought. But what I do work on has the capacity to be rich, rewarding, unhurried, and gratifying.
Laney goes on to teach us introverts that we have to be aware of our parameters: we cannot let too much into our lives. Since we can be overwhelmed by the outside world, we have to monitor and limit our exposure. Again, the conscious limiting of stimulation should be viewed, not as a failure, but as a positive, creative act enabling accomplishment and inner serenity .
Laney also presents a wealth of strategies for renewing your energy day to day and even hour to hour, and a very helpful chapter on putting on your “extrovert” hat...for a short time.
I am already employing many of her techniques, and for anyone who may think they match the introvert profile, this book may well change your life.
Go to Part 1
Browse all the items we review at the Success Books Store
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