Hi, and welcome to the Awfully Quiet Podcast. This is one of those episodes where I rushed through the microphone with an idea that I absolutely needed to share in the moment. So what it looks like is, I've just come back from my workout and during my workout, I just had this idea that I needed to share.

Now, bear with me because I know these are one of the best episodes. And the reason why I know this is. When I'm passionate about something and when I get a thought, and in the moment I feel like, oh, this is something that is really worthwhile sharing on the podcast. If I wait too long, then the idea's gone and I'm just not as passionate about it anymore.

So there is this window of time that I can get to my microphone and record for it to be really meaningful. And those. Usually the types of episodes where I'll get messages afterwards and people tell me, look, this resonated really well with me even though they are not as polished as some of the other ones that I write out, or I make a few more notes.

This one I honestly have in my head right now. And then on the way back I jotted down a couple of notes in my notes app on my phone in the car, and I feel strongly about it and, and this is why. You should definitely listen to this episode, and it's all about something that I really do for fun. If there is any such thing, the one thing that you need to know about me is.

That I rarely do anything just for fun. I honestly struggle doing things just for fun that are not productive at all.one of those things I would consider fun in my life. Actually, it is a little bit productive because it is a workout, but I go to spin class about two, three times a week and it's one of those fancy cool.

Cycling clubs here in Cologne and they have a couple of these clubs all around Europe, originated in Amsterdam, I believe, to begin with, and they've been around for maybe two, three years now. And initially I always, I dreaded going because I knew that. This was like a club for cool people and for,for people who just, you know, dare to go out and, and, and cycle in their sports bras.

And it's this little tight-knit community of, people who look really good while doing it. And it's, it's just something that I didn't feel like I belonged at the beginning.but then ever since I went for the first time, I tried it out with my husband and we went there. We fell in love because it's just exactly the type of workout that I thoroughly enjoy.

And I know I've talked about this before, but there is rarely anything that allows me to truly switch off where I don't think about work. I don't think about anything else really. And I am just in the moment. I am really just present. And that doesn't happen when I go for a run because I'll always listen to music or when I go for a walk, I'll often listen to a podcast or I'll have a lot of thoughts while doing it.

You know, I'm, when I'm in the shower, I have a lot of thoughts, which, which is good because I, I do come up with great ideas in the shower.but you get the point. It's, it's this, it's this high intensity training. That allows me to truly switch off and just be in the moment because frankly, I cannot think about anything else than what I'm doing on this bike.

And it's also just the energy in the room. It's, it's, it's a dark room. It's loud music, it's high energy instructors, and it's just this feeling of, of community. You wouldn't think this about me. seeing that I host a podcast called Awfully Quiet, and I'm, you know, very outspoken, introvert and rather quiet person.

And I would also say in social settings, more of a shy person, but twice a week, two, three times a week, whenever I go to spin class, I break character. I am a different person in that room, believe me what I say. I am a front row girly. You will see me in spin class, front row, screaming my lungs out, singing along.

You know they do swifty rides every once in a while. My one of my favorite instructors does the Swifty rides. You best believe I am in the front row shouting along too, all too well, the 10 minute version, and I leave everything on the field in these moments and it's just, I don't know if there's anything else.

That makes me feel so alive. So in the moment, so present. So this is the type of girl I am in spin class. I am front row. I know the other people in the front row. I hype them up, I shout, I scream, I woo. And it's just, it's just part of, it's just part of who I am. It's I, I do say I break character because this is what it would look like to anyone else when they see me in spin class, and they just know me from my Instagram and from like the beautiful beige.

Carousel posts with the thoughtful messages and ideas on how to speak up. You wouldn't think that this person is somebody who screams their lungs out in spin class. But the point I wanna make here is that I can be both. I can be the thoughtful, introspective, quiet, shy, and social settings person. I can be a front rock early in spin class, and it looks like a contradiction in the first place.

But what it really does, I feel like it adds a little bit of flavor. I have always been this type of person. I have always loved those high intensity training sessions. I'm, I also thoroughly enjoy like a, a nice yoga class, a Pilates class, softer things. I have always loved a good spin class.I also love a Barry's class if you've ever done a Barry's class, but, it, it's just who I am.

It is nothing that I do for show or for performance. It's just that I throw, I, I truly feel alive in those moments. But then again, in social settings, you know, when I'm out in the grocery store, I rarely ask for help or I rarely speak to strangers. When I'm at a party, I stick to the people that I know. I wouldn't just.

Go up to someone and, and speak to them out of the blue. So I'm, I'm also very shy in so social settings, but not in spin class. And, there's a couple of other things too. I feel like, if, you know, I, I just mentioned like parties or social settings, I dread going to anything where I don't really know anyone else.

Makes me really uncomfortable. I push myself to do that every once in a while and when I feel like something is at stake and I'm really there for, it serves a purpose. But, on the other hand, I host this podcast and I reach out to complete strangers. On a regular basis to ask them whether they would come on and be a guest on my show.

And I've asked, I've reached out to high profile people. I've had a lot of high profile guests on this show, a lot of guests that I would've never dreamed to have on, and I reach out to them, I connect with them. I oftentimes, for the actual recording, I see them, well not in person, but virtually for the very first time.

Up until that point, it is mostly. Email or a small introduction call, but it's literally strangers that I ask these well, questions that I've prepped and you know, obviously always trying to, you know, create a meaningful conversation. But in those moments, I am not that shy. I reach out to, I don't mind reaching out to people I really wanna have on, on the show.

I don't mind making connections within the real realm of this podcast or my online business for anything regarding subtle careers. I feel like whenever there is a purpose, whenever it serves a purpose, or whenever I think, look, this would be meaningful if I had this connection, this. could really, you know, amplify what I do.

Or if I would have this person on the podcast and they would speak to my audience about what it means to be awfully quiet and yet be successful in what they do. I feel like that serves a purpose of what I'm here to do that serves my mission that I'm on. To show how being introspective and quiet is something that can be extremely powerful in your career.

So yeah, that is a beautiful contradiction as well. There are a couple of other ones that stand out for me and that also come to life in the workplace. I, I'm, I'm not the most outspoken person. I am not the person who knows everyone at work, and I'm definitely not the person. Who everybody else knows because I am simply not that big of a, you know, office type networker.

I don't. I, I speak to people when I have something to share with them. I often connect through work. I often connect through, you know, whenever I, whenever I wanna reach out to someone and get their advice, or I have a genuine interest in their career story or trajectory, whenever I feel like they have done something that I really want to achieve tour that I would be interested in too.

That builds common ground, and that builds a hook for me. That gives me something I can go of when I do reach out to them. So I will have a lot of these type of connections and conversations, but I wouldn't just go up to someone in the office, introduce myself, and just sell myself for the benefit of being known and for them to know my name.

Where I wanna go with this is to tell you that it is quite important to bring these contradictions to life because for us introverts, what might happen or what happens all too often when we. Do not show some of these other sides of us. We easily get caged in this box, and we're just the introverts, we're just the quiet ones.

We're just the ones who don't speak up in meetings and that can get difficult. What I'm afraid happens then is that people miss all the rich. You know, do you see other sides of us or you know, that secret sauce? Like, you know, if, if, if somebody would only see me in meetings and they didn't know who I, the person I get in spin class, what a shame.

Because that is also a side of me that shows them, you know, the type of person that I am that shows them a little bit about something about me that, is potentially a little unexpected. So I will often. Talk about spin class at work. I will often say, look, I'm going, I've, I've, I've been at a spin class this morning before work.

Or I will tell them, you know, this is my plan for tonight or for the weekend. I'll often talk about this. I'll often tell them, you know, I went to a Swifty ride this weekend, screamed my lungs out. Best thing I've ever done. And what it does, it, it builds trust. It builds common ground. I know that for introverts it's often not easy to see how.

Our personal stuff is relevant in the workplace, but what it does, it helps you get out of the box. It helps you not only be the quiet person, but also be this other person that is interested in sports or arts or, you know, you can be the person you know on the call who always asks the thoughtful questions, and you can also be the one who is a competitive.

Tennis player on the weekends, whatever it looks like. Think about some of your beautiful contradictions. Think about some of the things that don't really make sense. Some of the things that would surprise others at work if they knew about it. And then I want you to weave them in every once in a while.

Just drop them here and there. Just sprinkle it into the conversation. See what happens when. Others learn something about you that they don't necessarily expected about you, that they don't see from the version of you that normally shows up at work. Now, there was this one thing in spin class today that I absolutely loved and wanna leave you with.

one of my favorite instructors was there tonight and there was one thing that they said that really stuck with me, and it was during one of those moments where, you know, you're doing a high intensity run. You are exhausted and you get a couple of seconds to refuel and to get back to yourself because you know you're going to do another sprint, you know you're going to do another high intensity set.

And there were two instructors tonight. They call, let the Spin class and O. One thing that they said, one thing he said was. In that moment of, you know, a small recovery, he was like, you know, you've got too high intensity. You've got two very energetic instructors in front of you. And it was absolutely true because they are, they are loud, they're out there, they're dancing, they're, they're just high intensity.

And what he said was, you know, you've, you've got these two instructors in front of you. But you decide for yourself what you need in this moment. You do not need to be a person who screams. You do not need to be a person who woos. You don't, you figure out in this moment what you need to get back to yourself.

And for some people, and myself included in that moment, it really was just a moment to myself quiet, just focusing on my breath and focusing on getting back to a place that would allow me to. Do another sprint. And I thought that that was so beautiful that they acknowledged, you know what, this is a high intensity class.

There's lots of people who are very vocal. There's lots of front row girlies who are screaming along to the songs. But you decide what you need because that is different for everyone. It's not the same for everyone in those moments. It applies to every situation in life really, doesn't it? Where, you know, in order to push through, in order to get back to yourself, it looks different for everyone.

Sometimes it looks like hyping each other up, motivating each other, screaming your lungs out, and sometimes it means getting quiet. And finding to yourself, following your breath, feeling into your body, just kind of grounding and centering just inside yourself. And that's what I wanna leave you with, is you will often be surrounded by people who are not quite like you.

They might be more energetic, there might be people at work, you're surrounded by people who you work with, or people who you often interact with that are different than you, that bring a lot of energy, that are very high intensity, very vocal people, but that doesn't mean that you need to mirror them. It doesn't mean that you need to pretend to be like them.

It also doesn't mean you need to, you know, put yourself into this box of just being the quiet person and never speak up. Try and bring your whole self. Understand what that looks like for you. Be yourself in these moments, which can often mean own your quiet, own your introspection, but also find ways to leverage that.

Also, find ways into the conversation. Find ways into being present in those moments and bringing some. Of those beautiful contradictions of the things that they don't quite expect from you. Drop them, weave them in, show up as your full self, as that beautiful contradiction that at the end of the day becomes your personal brand, becomes who you are and what you're known for in the workplace.

At the end of the day, that is everything that you need to do as a quiet introspective course network. That's what I wanna leave you with today. Don't be afraid to break character every once in a while. Don't be afraid to show a side of you that is slightly different than what they know about you. And if you do.

Please share it with me. I wanna know how it went. I wanna know how you feel. And if you ever wanna do a spin class in Cologne, you let me know because I can tell you exactly the one that you need to go to. Thank you very much for tuning in today, and I'll see you next week.