A Gallup poll from 2013 revealed that 50 percent of working Americans are disengaged with their work, while another 20 percent are actively disengaged. Worse yet, job dissatisfaction is probably killing people. Dan Miller observes that more people die of heart attacks on Monday morning than any other time of the week. Could it be that victims are coming off of an enjoyable weekend, dreading going back to a job they hate?

When you get down to it, a job gives each of us a sense of dignity. Most people find purpose and worth in the work they do. When people can’t work – or they get stuck doing work that’s not a good fit for them – they get depressed or worse.

In December of 2010, Tunisian police confiscated Mohamed Bouazizi’s produce cart and scales because he didn’t have a vending permit. Bouazizi then went to the governor’s office to complain, but no one would see him. He felt desperate and helpless with no way to feed his family, so to protest, he doused himself with gasoline and lit himself on fire.

Work is important; there’s no way around it. Everyone wants to do significant work. Furthermore, the average person will spend more time with coworkers at work over the course of her life than she will with her family. It’s important, then, that each of us finds the right job.

So where is the best work for you to do? How can you find a job you love as an introvert?

Why do people underestimate me, and what can I do about it?

Have you asked that question? If you’re a quiet, thoughtful introvert, chances are good you have. It’s easy to get frustrated when people assume you don’t have much to offer just because they can’t physically observe your gifts.

Getting better acquainted with the cause of the problem will help you work toward a solution.

Have you ever felt overlooked, undervalued, or underestimated because you’re an introvert?

If you can say “Yes!”, you’re not alone: Almost all introverts have felt that way at some time or another.

So what causes people to misjudge introverts and to devalue their gifts? It comes down to three reasons, which I share in this episode.

After explaining the cause, I offer five suggestions for what you can do about it and ways you can succeed, even when people misjudge you at the start.

Do you ever struggle to contribute during meetings? Do you wonder how to talk more?

When I first started at my current job several years ago, I had the hardest time chiming in during meetings. While my colleagues were exchanging and evaluating ideas, I sat quietly. I was engaged, and I was listening, but I seldom spoke up for one of two reasons: I either couldn’t think of anything to say during the meeting, or I didn’t know how to jump into a faced-paced conversation.

As a result, I left many meetings wondering what people thought of me and wishing I’d said more. The frustrating thing was that as soon as I’d return to my workspace a flood of ideas and insights related to what was discussed would rush into my mind.

It can be hard to be the introvert in a meeting. You know you have valuable ideas and insights, but the environment makes sharing difficult. Fortunately, there are few hacks that’ll significantly improve your meeting experiences.

What makes an introvert happy? Really happy? 

The answer to that question may surprise you – especially if you’re not an introvert. But it’s worth finding out if you’re friends with, dating, or married to one.

And while there are a variety of introvert personality types, certain things – many of which are FREE – appeal to almost all introverts. So if you’re aiming to make your introvert’s day or you’re a quiet person looking to have some fun, I suggest you try out a few of the following ideas. 

What’s the fear of looking bad costing you? 

• More friends?
• A date?
• Your dream work?
• Business relationships?
• Wasted potential? 

It’s amazing what fear does to us. 

This summer, I was scared to death to invite my Facebook friends to like my blog. I know it sounds stupid, but I was certain that as soon as I started asking people to like my page, that would be the end of our relationship for good. They’d think I was an idiot, and my life would be over.

The same thing happened when I was getting ready to launch my podcast. “You know, Bo. No one’s going to want to listen to you,” I told myself. “Who says you even know what you’re talking about anyway?” 

When we really want to do something – something we’re passionate about – we’re so good at coming up with excuses. And at the heart of each one is fear. We’re deathly afraid of making fools of ourselves. 

But we’ll never achieve what we really want to until we go ahead and put ourselves out there!

The good news is that you don’t have to let fear chain you. If you change the way you think, you can change your future. Proverbs 23:7 says it well: “For as [a person] thinks within himself, so he is.” 

Before my wife and I married, the pastor conducting our premarital counseling cautioned us: “You’re going to have to work hard at getting out and staying involved in community because you’re both introverts.”

Boy, was he right! Neither of us is a naturally outgoing person. So we really have to force ourselves out of the house, lest we wind up a pair recluses, forever chained to the living room.

But there’s also a lot to love about an introvert marriage that I never realized before I got hitched. I was mulling this over last night and couldn’t resist sharing with you.

Feast your eyes on 13 reasons why an introvert marriage is a blast!

A young and old lumberjack once had a competition to see who could chop down more trees. At the start of the day, the youth set out swinging his ax with great energy and vigor. The old man worked much more slowly.

As the day wore on, the youth kept swinging, without losing much momentum. But the old man had to stop every hour to take a break.

As the sun started setting, the competition drew to a close. And a judge began counting the number of trees each man had felled. After a short while, he announced the outcome: the old man had won. Shocked, the young man asked his elder how he’d done it.

The old lumberjack explained. “Each time I took a break, I sharpened my ax. Then, when I went back to work, my newly sharpened blade multiplied my efforts.”

As introverts, we’d do well to heed this lesson. If we want to have more energy and be more effective, we need to schedule regular breaks.

As a Christian introvert, do you know what you really need to grow in your walk with the Lord?

If you’re like me, you probably resist this. But there’s no denying you need it to be whole.