Quietly Thriving: Crafting a Career Aligned with Your True Self

If you’ve been struggling to thrive in a traditional career as an introvert and highly sensitive person, know this: It’s not you—it’s the system.

As an introvert and highly sensitive person, the conventional workplace felt like a daily battle of sensory overload and emotional exhaustion.

So, 11 years ago, buoyed by enthusiasm with the prospect of leaving a particularly toxic job, I decided to take a leap of faith into the world of freelancing and self-employment.

Thanks to a spark of curiosity I had back in 2009, I launched a blog and began to write consistently on the internet, which led to becoming one of the early adopters of social media.

These skills enabled me to initially offer consulting services to businesses; I then began teaching to wider audiences through organisations like General Assembly; I hosted workshops with Apple, led panel discussions and spoke on stage; I offered coaching to people who wanted to launch their own business; taught myself website design and coding and then was able to offer that as a service; I created digital products and courses; I launched an eCommerce business; and in 2022, I even launched an Airbnb!

Whilst I have experimented a lot and my business has gone through multiple iterations over the years; the foundational digital skills I cultivated through my blog, combined with leveraging the skills from my corporate career, provided a springboard to further develop in areas that I was interested in and pursue different paths that piqued my interest.

Being self-employed, I've thrived on having the autonomy to design my days; the freedom to pursue multiple interests and dive deep into areas that I was passionate about.

Above all, I loved making a difference in people’s lives and feeling like I was actually doing work that truly mattered in the world.

If you’ve been struggling to thrive in a traditional career, know this: It’s not you—it’s the system.

You don’t have to change who you are to succeed. Instead, you can create a career that works for you on your own terms.

I'll be sharing more insights from my journey as an HSP and introvert here on my new Substack, Quietly Thriving.

I’d love to know, have you ever felt like traditional career wasn't designed for you to thrive?