Any help is much appreciated

July 20th, 2009

I love my business. And at times, I hate it.

I love being able to help people. I seem to have a strong

Natural ability to read people. I can tell if they’re lying,

Genuine, hiding something, if there’s more to the story.

I can feel compassion for just about anybody. I also know

That there’s no black and white, only shades of grey. This

Makes it easy to help sort out interpersonal issues, which is

My job in my business.
On the other hand, I’m an introvert. (For those of you who

Are familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, I’m an

INFJ - another reference is here). I love listening to, and

Helping people, but it exhausts me. It’s a paradox.

Today I spent all day listening to people, all of whom had

Problems of varying magnitudes. When I’m listening, I am an

Active listener. I ask questions, I watch body language, I seek

Out details that the person may have glossed over accidentally

Or intentionally, I take notes. I don’t notice it at the time, but

Afterwards, I feel like a light bulb that’s been producing huge

Amounts of light and heat, which has been switched off. I feel

Drained, and my brain is normally teeming with the different

Issues raised, and the best way to approach them.

So yes, I spent pretty much all of today doing this. I’m tired.

I can see how people can burn out from this kind of job.

I’m just not sure at this point, how to prevent this huge energy

Drain that happens. If you know of any resources which address

This, I’d really appreciate a head’s up.