During the first week of the Foundation Course at LBSNAA, I took my first Myers-Briggs test
During the first week of the Foundation Course at LBSNAA, I took my first Myers-Briggs test.
During the first week of the Foundation Course at LBSNAA, I took my first Myers-Briggs test.
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During the first week of the Foundation Course at LBSNAA, I took my first Myers-Briggs test. It only confirmed what I had known for most of my life - I'm an introvert through and through!
Picture this: 560 civil servants, all trying to bond through an endless parade of ice-breaking & networking sessions. To be honest, it felt like a daunting introvert's nightmare at first.
Yet, I endured. After each day of social interactions, I found solace by retreating to the quiet behind my hostel, where I could lose myself in the mesmerizing hues of the Mussoorie skies.This ritual became my refuge, helping me navigate the storm of extroversion around me
Throughout my training journey—from FC to Phase I and into field attachments—I crafted strategies to perform my role better
[1] Listen More - Silence is golden, unless you're an introvert, then it's a lifestyle.
Extroverts may scatter ideas like seeds in the wind, but we introverts cultivate them in quiet contemplation before they blossom into words. As an IAS officer, the ability to listen to all stakeholders before forming opinions is a critical advantage, ensuring well-rounded and informed decisions.
[2] Develop a "Second Brain" - Capturing the world’s noise in the quiet of journals.
Developing a second brain is like having an extension of your brain, leveraging offline and online tools to capture new information and store it in a manner that can be used later. The most basic version involves using a simple journal, while the most advanced form uses tools like Notion, Obsidian, etc. I use a mix of both. I developed a habit of keeping a notebook with me all the time to capture ideas when I found one. Cumulatively, I found myself with systematic ideas, and with that came the confidence to present them lucidly.
[3] Be Curious - Explore the world with a whisper of curiosity and a thunder of understanding.
Introverts take their time and ask lots of questions, making brainstorming sessions richer. In brainstorming sessions, this tendency helps uncover deeper insights into the socio-cultural dynamics of government systems, ensuring well-rounded conclusions.
Despite the push for collaboration, open office spaces, and team brainstorming, it's crucial to take time for personal reflection. True innovation often springs from solitary contemplation. In your own space, you work like an artist, becoming the unique asset you were hired to be.
“ you once said that you would like to sit beside me while I write. Listen, in that case I could not write at all. For writing means revealing oneself to excess; that utmost of self-evalution and surrender, in which a human being , when involved with other, would feel he was losing himself, he will always shrink as long as he is his right mind…. that is why one can never be alone enough as one writes , where can never be enough silence, when even night is not night enough”
Said by Kafka to his fiance because he was an artist who needed the Quiet!
Pic: LBSNAA Sky!