The more you can embrace and express your unique truth the better your relationships will become, the more compelling your content will be, and the more engaging you will be as a speaker.

This isn’t always easy and for some people it doesn’t come naturally, but it is certainly worth the effort.

Take Action:
Speak your honest vulnerable truth. This can be big or small, in person or online. Either way, lean into it!

Books Covered:
Give Them Goosebumps - Miroslav Petrovic

If you identify as introverted, anxious, empathic, neurotic, or easily overstimulated, you may be a ‘highly sensitive person’ - a term taken from the book by the same name.

It promotes self-awareness and acceptance, as well as the reframing of those traits as a positive and necessary component of a healthy society. We need decisive people of action as well as a sensitive class of advisors to guide them. That way, the right stuff gets done.

It also provides guidance on how to navigate the world as a highly sensitive person, and how to talk with those high in that trait. Reflective listening is offered as a way to validate the strong emotions of those around us, without falling into the trap of irrationally changing things only because of the impact of those emotions on our mental state.

Take Action:
For the next five minutes, think on replacing the your internal label of ‘anxiety’ with ‘sensitivity’, then ask, ‘what does the world need right now?’

Books Covered:
The Highly Sensitive Person - Elaine Aron

Effective self-care is more than just eating cake. Ideally it should make you feel good over the long term: diet, exercise, meditation, relaxation, medication, study, and practice.

Of course, if you need to do something to survive, do it. But also consider what will help you NOT to have to do those short term fixes again.

Morning rituals can help you, as well as a list of ‘go to’ activities that work for you in different contexts (calm breathing, breaks, books, music).

Self improvement + Relaxation = Effective Self-Care

Take Action:
Write a list of five things that could be used as positive forms of self-care. Try them and if they work, keep them on a list on you. If not, cross it off and add something new to the list and repeat!

Books Covered:
The Dialectic Behavioural Skills Workbook - Matthew McKay