Introversion, Perception and Reality with Alice Boyes

For many people, discovering where they fell on the introvert-extrovert spectrum didn’t come at an early age. So they grew up with a set of perceptions about who they were that may or may not have been reality. This is especially true for introverts; for instance, I grew up thinking that I was socially unskilled and not a good conversationalist.

I hear similar stories from my clients and the people I’ve spoken with over the past three years. From this one piece of information - knowing they're introverts - they can start the journey of learning how to be their most powerful selves.

My guest is New Zealand psychologist Dr. Alice Boyes, and she was fortunate; she learned that she was an introvert at a very young age. But it was only recently that she started to appreciate her introversion, rather than see it as a personal fault.

We talk about her journey from feeling ashamed of being an introvert to feeling at peace with it. We also cover a wide range of topics, including

• Taking what could be perceived as a negative trait and becoming more comfortable with it
• How lessons from traditional work places help inform making the transition to entrepreneurship
• Distinguishing between introversion, anxiety and lack of confidence
• Identifying your “tracks of avoidance” that could hold you back
• What's really behind our fear of success

PS: One of her recent Psychology Today articles was featured on Lifehacker.com and has gotten over 100,000 views (read the original article).