Hello, and welcome to the traveling Introvert. Today I want to talk
about why people delay in
investing professionally in themselves as well as there's potential
consequences. So one of the things that happens a lot is I'll
get people reach out to me, they're followed by work, they know who
I am, we have a little chat and then they kind of
back out. And I get various reasons. But the key thing is here
are a few of the reasons that stay true with everyone no matter what it
is they're saying. There is
sometimes some self doubt and impostor syndrome in
there because they might struggle with feeling unworthy
or inadequate. And so they don't deserve to go
ahead and put sort
of stock into bettering themselves professionally. They might feel it's a
them problem, but they don't necessarily want to do the inner work
to fix it. And this can hinder their confidence to invest in
themselves and pursue professional growth opportunities. They
might think that the might be judged or
criticized. The fear of being evaluated
or perceived negatively can hold them back. There's so many times that I've heard people
say well, I can't have this as a line item for my boss. I can't
have impostor syndrome coaching as a line item to give to my boss. I can't
have introvert coaching as a line item to my boss. It has to be
covered and masked as leadership coaching
or professional growth or insert thing here to be more
palatable for the culture that the are working
in. The other thing can be overthinking and analysis
paralysis, sort of deeply analyzing
situations and options can lead to
overthinking and then not making an actual
decision. The overthinking can cause delays
in investing in themselves. So many people this is so common.
People won't invest in themselves until it's too
late, when they've already been let go, when they already
need to look for a new job. Instead of just interviewing all
the time, you should always be interviewing. You don't know what's out there, you don't
know what dream job might pop up, you don't know what the rates are as
far as salary is concerned if you're not out there interviewing. You don't make good
relationships with recruiters if you're not out there interviewing. But
I notice a lot of people just kind of wait until the shoe drops and
they're like oh, I need to do this thing. Oh, but I'm not sure where
my money is coming from. So I shouldn't invest in myself. Yes, you should
always be investing in yourself all the time.
Another thing is
sort of they want to
prioritize others over themselves. Putting
themselves first as an introvert might be
hard. They prioritize the needs and well being of
others. Hence they will deal with back to back to back meetings even though it
is draining for them and normally it is at the expense of their own growth
and development. The selfless mindset can result
in delaying an investments of themselves, both professionally and
personally. And this leads to delayed
growth. I've had managers come to me saying, I know that
this person needs coaching, but they're not open to coaching because they don't
think they need it. They have an outside external source that is willing to pay
for it, that is willing to help them and guide them. But they won't do
it because of fear or because they don't think they
need it, or because they don't have enough time, because they're overwhelmed, because they are
not managing their time and their energy well enough to be able
to take that time and prioritize personal growth. And to be
fair, personal growth and professional growth should be on your calendar just as much
as meetings that you have one on one with your managers once a week or
once a month. You should have that time blocked out
anyway. The more and the longer you delay in
investing in yourself, be it with in health
or in medical or professional growth or personal growth, the longer that you
delay, the bigger the missed opportunities
it could be. Missed career opportunities, it could be stagnation, reduced
job satisfaction, all of it can limit your potential for career
advancement. Acquiring new skills and reaching your goals should be something that is
just a constant presence in your life, always learning. And
it doesn't necessarily have to be direct correlation to your work. But if you are
taking an interest in yourself and you are putting yourself first
rather than others, you will make the time to watch
videos or listen to podcasts to aid your professional and
personal growth. It can only be better for
you. And one of these
things, along with the overthinking and the fear of judgment and
putting other people first, means you end up not promoting yourself
as well. You find it challenging to showcase your skills and accomplishments
because you didn't go ahead and get that help that you
needed, whether it's seeking a mentor or asking someone for
advice. So please treat yourself
like your best client. Recognize your reasons and the potential
consequences you should address and overcome those barriers
with self awareness, support and intentional action.
You can go ahead and put yourself first. Thank you for listening. This is
Janice@thecuryintrat.com helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a
great rest of your week.