Ok friends indulge me. In today’s post I am an opportunist and dramatic – both out of character for an introvert! : ) What is with the craze around Frozen and Elsa – the princess with a magical yet dangerous power?!?!?! Forget the girls loving the movie! The plot resonates with so many women that, like me, they’ve seen it repeatedly with or without kids in tow. While there are some imperfections to the movie, I love the empowering message for women to break free of the cultural constraints that limit us and “let it go!” Recently I looked at Elsa’s plight and transformation through the introverted lens and thought “hmm . . . she is a heroine for our cause as well.” Here is how I see it.
Elsa was born with an ability to make snow and ice. Before she knew how to harness this power and turn it into beauty she was trained to fear this part of herself, “to conceal it, don’t feel it.” She was shunned into conformity, taught that her power was dangerous, and she shut down part of herself. So here is the dramatic part – this can be an analogy for introverts in an extroverted culture. We are either overtly or inadvertently taught to devalue and shun our more mild-mannered, quiet, reflective nature. We learn that who we inherently are is not okay. And like Elsa our true gifts are hidden behind closed doors. Similarly like Elsa – when we step into our power and own it – good things happen. We are in harmony with ourselves and the world benefits from our talents and style. That is the way of the Intelligent Introvert. We are rising up quietly and determinedly.
This begs the question, “What is the ice castle that you would build if you stepped fully into your introverted power?
