Lauren Sapala

Category: Introverts, INFJs, and INFPs

  • One Simple Way to Strengthen Your Intuition for INFJs and INFPs

    One Simple Way to Strengthen Your Intuition for INFJs and INFPs

    Every INFJ or INFP I have ever met seems to suffer from anxiety, and the more I’ve studied this phenomenon, the more I see that it’s related to us being out of alignment with our intuition. In the first video of my 3-part video series on INFJs, INFPs and intuition (Are You an INFJ or INFP Suppressing Your Intuition?) I explain exactly how this anxiety manifests and I also give a quick exercise anyone can use to begin reconnecting with suppressed intuition. However, right after INFJs and INFPs do this exercise, another question (or rather, big fear) tends to come up: (more…)

  • Are You an INFJ or INFP Suppressing Your Intuition?

    Are You an INFJ or INFP Suppressing Your Intuition?

    One of the most frequently asked questions I get from INFJs and INFPs is about suppressed intuition. It seems that so many of us shut down our natural intuitive gifts in childhood or early adolescence. This happens due to a variety of reasons, ranging from a narcissistic parent who never allowed us to truly be ourselves, to peer pressure in school from other kids who thought we were weird, or even teachers who couldn’t understand how we operated.

    These experiences are extremely common for INFJs and INFPs, unfortunately. Most of us grow up feeling that something is wrong with us, something is “defective,” and so we try to go in the opposite direction and make ourselves into something different in order to fit in with the mainstream population. (more…)

  • The Empath’s Curse and How I Stopped Letting It Control My Life

    The Empath’s Curse and How I Stopped Letting It Control My Life

    Today’s guest post comes from Michelle Cornish, co-author of  Freeing the Butterfly: Transform Your Life Through Simple Exercises, Meditations, and Affirmations, where she shares more tips for getting to know yourself and feeling happier in your own skin. Michelle is an intuitive feeler and an empath as well. I love this article because it shares such great tips for navigating the often confusing waters of overwhelming emotion that empaths can experience.

    I remember feeling many overwhelming feelings when I was a kid. What struck me the most was that I often felt sad when I thought I should be happy and vice versa. My feelings made little sense to me. I thought I was weird and just wanted to be like everyone else, so I became really good at reading a room. I was a chameleon.

    When I tried to be myself, people told me I was too sensitive or I wouldn’t understand. But I understood. Adult problems were very real to me. Sometimes they consumed me, especially when I was a teenager. I was constantly asking myself what I would do with my life and how I would make a living. (more…)

  • From Struggling and Self-Doubt to Creative Transformation

    From Struggling and Self-Doubt to Creative Transformation

    I’m on the Hearts Rise Up podcast today!

    I had a good long talk with Carol Chapman about getting past my own addiction and creative paralysis to become a writing coach for INFJ and INFP writers. We also talked about the ways empaths and sensitive intuitives can begin to accept ourselves AND our unique gifts.

    INFJs and INFPs don’t experience life the way other people do, and we don’t make art the way other people do either. That doesn’t mean we’re defective, it only means that it’s up to us to learn more about our intuition—our biggest strength—and begin to use it to write our book, launch our business, and rise up to be our best self. (more…)

  • Defending My Enemy: How I Moved Past Perfectionism

    Defending My Enemy: How I Moved Past Perfectionism

    Today’s guest post comes from Angela Schenk, a Success Coach for Bold Introverts, a writer, and the founder of Quiet Creative, LLC. She is focused on helping Bold Introverts—the quiet ones who have something to say—get their ideas out of their heads and into the world.

    In one of my Mom’s old albums, there’s a photo of me in dance class when I was around four or five years old. The sight of it used to leave me feeling broken and embarrassed. Why? Because I was doing the wrong move. There’s a line of leotard-clad little girls all doing the same thing. And then there’s me doing something else entirely. For years, when I turned the page and saw the photo, I’d feel the urge to peel back the protective film and slip it behind another picture. There was a way things were supposed to be done—a perfect way—and here was concrete evidence that I wasn’t living up. This amounted to nothing short of a glaring character flaw in my mind. (more…)