“I have difficulty expressing myself.”
This is another comment I hear quite often from clients. We can have difficulty with expressing ourselves whether we are introverted or extroverted, for a range of reasons.
How we express ourselves, physically and verbally, is a reflection of innate personality preferences combined with learned ways of being (social programming). There is a dynamic interplay between these two variables.
We often mistake confident people as naturally extroverted. We need to realize that even extroverted individuals may have had their self-esteem negatively impacted via programming. They may present themselves in an insecure and uncertain manner while a more introspective introvert may have high self-esteem and be quite capable of sharing important views with confidence.
There is no one right way to express ourselves. But we do need to be conscious of how our styles of expression impact us and the lives of others. Almost all of us want to be able to express ourselves with a sense of self-assurance and poise. To successfully engage with the world, we must be able to:
• demonstrate ways of being that make it easy for others to understand us
• demonstrate ways of being that make it easy for us to gain the support and resources we need
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Terri Lee Cooper MSc. RSW