It’s the personal projects.” He describes how some of our traits are more fixed and
automatic, but many are “free traits” that we can adjust in order to advance a core
project in our lives.
Little explains that like the engineer at Cisco, he’s also an introvert. However,
his core, personal project is to profess. He loves to teach. So even as an introvert,
he is “acting out of character” when he is up in front of the class connecting with
his students. How does he do it? Through deliberate and purposeful action. He
pushes himself to do it.
The engineer’s personal project was to express his gratitude to John Chambers.
That’s why he had the instinct to “act out of character.” How did he actually push
himself to do it? The #5SecondRule. In both examples two things were present—a
desire to do something meaningful (connect with students or a CEO) and
deliberate action (a push to act out of character).
Does it feel harder for an introvert to walk up to a CEO, talk in front of her
church, or teach a class than it feels for an extrovert to do these things? Maybe.
Maybe not. Depends on how confident the individual is. And confidence, as you
know, has nothing to do with personality.
As Professor Little likes to say, “you are like some other people and like no
other person.” What I do know is that the first time you do anything, it’s going to
feel difficult and maybe a little scary. You’re going to need a little courage. We are all
capable of “acting out of character” when it serves an important purpose. The
most important purpose I can think of is improving your life in ways that make you
come alive and feel happy and fulfilled.
How do you “act out of character” to do that work? You guessed it: you assert
yourself and practice acts of everyday courage using the #5SecondRule. Those acts
may not seem “earth shattering,” but they will shatter self-doubt over time.