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Introvert/HSP Re-entry Dread? Re-considering Work and Socializing Post-pandemic.

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re-entry image

I hear some introverts and highly sensitive people (HSPs) saying they don’t want to go back to certain pre-pandemic things like working back at the office, or attending certain social events.

They like having the break from the pressure to be around others when they don’t feel like it. And they’re seeing how much the break has helped them. I can feel it too.

Are you having any of those re-entry dread feelings?

Now is a good time to reconsider how we used to do things, and what we’ll choose differently going forward.

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Honoring Your Perseverance

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One year ago, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. It’s also when my state closed the schools and asked us to turn our lives upside down, for an unknown length. A lot changed in an instant.

It’s been a vague kind of trauma, that effects us in some invisible ways (as well as visible ways).

We’ve all been through a lot of change to say the least. Have you honored all you’ve been through and what you’ve learned? In your personal life, and in your work life? In your heart?

Maybe this anniversary is a good moment to pause, to look back, see where you are now, and to look forward with fresh and wiser eyes. I invite us all to bring a sense of grace and acceptance of all feelings that might be naturally arising at this time.

I want to honor you for your perseverance and all the ways you’ve worked hard to protect others. That means a lot to me. Thank you.

I notice a lot of uneasy feelings in those around me, perhaps in that way a trauma anniversary can creep up on us.

I wrote a quick poem, below, to attempt to capture this moment, with this intention:
May we find some gentleness for whatever feelings arise, and may we honor ourselves and each other for our perseverance. We are stronger than we knew.

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The “Wrong Age” for Finding Work, Changing Careers, or Starting a Business?

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There’s something about this idea of being the “wrong age” that comes up so much when I first speak with someone about their career or self-employment concerns.

You might be surprised that I hear this same worry no matter the person’s age! They can be 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60, and somehow they think it’s the “wrong age.” I would laugh if it weren’t so sad.

feeling the wrong age

For instance, I hear all these kinds of things, regularly:

  • “I’m 33 so it’s really late to be figuring this out.”
  • “I’m 25 so it’s really late to be figuring this out.”
  • “I’m embarrassed I don’t know what I want to do at age 50.”
  • “Nobody will hire me now that I’m over 50.”
  • “I’m too old to do that.”
  • “I’m too young to be taken seriously.”
  • “I’m too old to start a business.”
  • “I’m too young to start a business.”
  • “They want younger workers who know the latest technology.”
  • “They want someone with more years of experience.”

Here’s what I’ve discovered is more true than any of that: Continue reading →

The In-Between Time in Your Career: 3 Things That Got Me Through It.

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Being between jobs, or waiting for the next right work to reveal itself, is just hard.

When I first wished for and wondered about self-employment, and was burning out in the job I was in, I remember feeling discouraged, that self-employment would never actually work for me. At the same time I didn’t want a boss any longer. So I felt stuck in the hallway.

I was in the in-between time: Ready for one door to close before I could see the next door open. Not comfortable.

I’ll explain 3 key ingredients that got me through that time. All 3 were eye-openers for me. Continue reading →

Oh, These Poignant Holidays… and Now This Too.

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The thermometer is dropping as we approach winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, and yet the stress thermometer seems to be heating up right now, in this holiday season.

Of course this holiday stress happens every year, but I’m finding this year is more poignant and palpable than ever. It feels like my heart is aching for everyone.

Every conversation somehow feels like the person is going to cry with the mention of COVID-times holiday. No one has the playbook for this one.

All we can do is turn to what we know, but what we know for the holidays isn’t fitting. So we keep stumbling, feeling stupid, feeling confused, and mostly just tired. Continue reading →