EP 3: Living With Sensitivity: How Being an HSP and INFJ Shapes My World
Do you feel drained by small talk? Overwhelmed by bright lights or noisy crowds? You might be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP).
In this episode of No Borders, No Filter, host Debra, the Experient Explorer, unpacks the complexities of living in the Philippines as an HSP and INFJ. She delves into the stark differences in communication styles, conflict resolution, and personal accountability compared to other cultures.
Debra explores the Filipino concepts of hiya (shame), pakikisama (maintaining social harmony), and bahala na (leaving things to fate), shedding light on how these values shape social interactions. From professional challenges and property management frustrations to adjusting to a collectivist society, she candidly shares her personal experiences navigating life in the Philippines.
As an introvert, Debra also discusses the unique challenges of forming and maintaining friendships in a culture that values group harmony and social interaction. She reflects on balancing her need for deep, meaningful connections with the expectation of social adaptability in a collectivist environment.
Tune in to gain insights into cultural adaptation, resilience, and the delicate balance between respecting traditions and maintaining personal boundaries. Whether you're an expat, a traveler, or simply curious about cultural nuances, this episode offers valuable perspectives on adapting to a new environment.
Key Takeaways:
05:30 - How conflict avoidance shapes interactions in the Philippines
08:45 - Challenges in professional communication: Ignoring and avoidance
12:20 - INFJ tendencies: Hyper-independence in a collectivist culture
16:10 - The realities of community living: Noise, construction, and enforcement of rules
22:00 - Dealing with a passive landlady and taking matters into my own hands
27:30 - Comparing Filipino cultural norms with experiences in China
31:50 - The struggle between collectivism and individual accountability
33:46 - Dealing with Community Issues
38:23 - Reflections on Collectivism vs. Individualism
Follow Debra on Social Media:
Visit Debra’s multimedia website at www.dmeryl.net
Transcript
No Borders, No Filter
Episode 3, Part 3
DEBRA:
Do you feel like your brain cells and soul are dying when you are confronted with a small talk conversation about the weather or what did you eat today? Or, uh, simple topics. Hey there and welcome to No Borders, No Filter.
I'm Debra, your host and the Experient Explorer. Experient is for my hands-on lifestyle and Explorer is for living outside of borders and boundaries. I'm here to shake things up, challenge your mindset, spark some critical thinking, and inspire you to live more boldly.
I'm not going to sugarcoat my life or my thoughts as I dive into the intricacies of my global life journey as a solo Gen X woman. Growing up in New York fueled my wanderlust spirit, driving me to explore the world on my own terms. Expect raw, unfiltered stories with life's toughest truths sprinkled with a touch of sarcasm and plenty of straight talk.
If you're curious about maintaining mental health outside of your home country, starting life over in exotic lands, and finding meaningful connections, you're in the right place. Tune in and let's get started. Hi, everyone. My name is Debra, the Experient Explorer. This is No Borders, No Filter podcast. Today, we're going to be talking about living with sensitivity, how being an HSP and INFJ shapes my world, and I am going to include my life experiences here in the Philippines.
I talk about other cultures, including my own, about where I have lived at home, but this time I'm going to include more about my life so far in the Philippines and give you some more pros, but cons as well. My podcast is about being open, uncensored, unfiltered. It does not mean I'm going to be mean.
It's not going to be that I think I am superior to anyone else, but there is evidence about all cultures and all cultures have strengths and weaknesses. I am not going to just sit around and throw smoke up cultures, but just because I'm here in it. It is about getting to know things more deeply and is that I experience things more deeply because I feel things more deeply and I choose to travel and live that way.
There are consequences to that, which is I learn a lot. First, we are going to talk about what is HSP and INFJ. Let me ask you a few questions. You can share always a comment if it's something you can identify with. I'm always looking for more people like myself because it's very difficult for me to be able to find like-minded people in my lifestyle. If you're like me, do you steer clear of crowds, public spaces that allow half-drunk people sing karaoke in a public place and they're tone deaf and they totally kill the song you love or do bright lit places really feel like a punishment to your eyes and your brain?
Do you feel like your brain cells and soul are dying when you are confronted with a small talk conversation about the weather or what did you eat today or simple topics? Well, if you answered one, two or maybe three of these as yes, then you perhaps are an HSP. Now, I just want to point something out to you that someone from Gen X, we didn't really have these categories of information. We just called people out on certain behaviors and some of them are good and some of them are not good. Obviously, it also depends on culture. However, there are categories for this.
There's research and evidence on this. I am going to be bringing up to you right now from choosingtherapy.com, which is a dedicated site for best evidence relating to things based on mental health. This is where I am starting and sharing about being an HSP and highly sensitive person.
They point out there's 12 signs that you might be an HSP. The first one is people call you oversensitive. Me. All my life, I have been called oversensitive or people bring up that I act like a baby in certain situations. Now, there is a little bit of truth to both, but more so that I'm just oversensitive. What that means is obviously more sensitive than the average person.
Now, in my culture, being oversensitive is definitely negative. You really got to keep your control over your emotions at all times, especially in my house. I grew up with a very conservative, reserved mother and father. They didn't show emotions. For me, it was very difficult because I wanted to talk about my emotions. And it just was very difficult for me to learn how to deal with my sensitivity.
But the thing is, it really does come into play well when I travel because I really care about others. And that's part of my personality. And I care about justice for others. Housing is a human right and animals have a right to be here as well. And when I see those injustices, I feel very oversensitive. Two, you feel easily overwhelmed by your senses. That is also me. Your senses, touch, taste, hear, feel, sight. And so I really try to keep myself in controlled environments where the noise is controlled. And if it can't be, I put on my earphones. Let's continue. Media violence upsets you.
Highly sensitive people are more empathic. And displays of violence in the media or horror films, such as torture scenes, are really offensive. Well, for me, to be honest, I do watch the news because I believe in knowledge. And I believe in being in the know of what things are happening in the world factually. I study journalism and I'm an incredibly curious person. And I want to know what is going on.
I can't know everything, but I definitely keep myself engaged. But horror films, that is definitely true. I really steer clear of that.
I would have to say there might be one or two that are on the mild side of horror films, like The Ring, that I actually enjoyed. But pretty much that is true. You avoid stressful situations. Well, I would have to say I do try to do that as much as possible these days. I do stay at home a lot. One is because I am working now from home, but also is that the world here is very loud.
And I really need to keep myself calm these days. I'm new to a place and I like to not overstimulate myself and feel stressed. Five, crowds overwhelm you. Yes, as I mentioned before, when I was younger in university, that was when I really did kind of go out and have fun with bars and loud music and dancing and things like that. But that was very short lived. And eventually I stopped. You know, it was only for a short time I was that way and got more into my art and being in a studio and doing things very introspective, internal and enjoying being a creative, not being bothered. Next one is you're deeply emotional. Yes, we are deeply emotional people and we feel things intensely. Number seven, you were shy as a child. Yes, I was. And many people don't believe that when I meet them. But it's a compliment to those people who think I am talkative and outgoing. I am very much a person that doesn't really engage with others until I feel comfortable. I have to warm up to people, but I can do it much faster now. I can feel if I can feel safe fairly easily or not based on other people's behavior or mannerisms. But when I was a child and when I was a baby, I didn't talk. I stayed pretty much to myself and played with things in my crib quietly. I didn't talk till I was three. Number eight, you feel overwhelmed by tasks. A to-do list can overstimulate an HSP, but at the same time, we'd like to avoid making mistakes.
That's me. I definitely have my things I need to do, but I don't make these big lists. I kind of keep it in my head. I'm pretty good about that. And I though wonder as I'm getting older, if that is going to be a reliable thing. But as of right now, because I'm a perfectionist type, I definitely am someone who will make sure that I get things done. And if I don't, I don't feel good about myself. You pick up on nuances. Yes, I do. I'm a person that really does sense others' feelings and that I know if someone is interested or not interested in a conversation or bored in my classroom when I was teaching. I can pick up on those things very easily because I've also learned what mannerisms with hands and body language. You are incredibly sensitive to pain. Absolutely. But mostly emotional pain. Of course, I don't like physical pain.
I do not have any tattoos and I won't probably ever get them. In a small way, it's like if there's a long line at a coffee shop or at a cashier, I'm not going to wait till I get to the counte
r to have my money and everything ready for her. I'm going to prepare in advance so that the people behind me don't have to wait as long. So I do things like that, those little details to make sure that I'm not bothering anyone as much as I can. You aim to please others sometimes, but at this point, I've definitely worked on not doing that. I don't want to upset others, but I have to start looking out for myself in healthy ways.
And sometimes where people think I'm being selfish, it's just about me taking care of myself. So those are the things related to being an HSP. All one through 12, I can relate.
So therefore, when I reviewed this, I realized that I am a highly sensitive person and that's something that I didn't really categorize myself until, I don't know, within this last decade of my life. But it is a fact and it's something that I have to keep in check because I do live in a world of people and how I, again, behave and act do affect others. And when I fall short, it makes me rethink about where I can learn to behave a little bit more consciously to others that not everyone is out to get me.
It's really difficult to navigate as an HSP, especially as a traveler. As a traveler, I like things a certain way. And so what I do is, especially with photography, I avoid crowds because I don't want them to be necessarily the focus of my pictures.
So when I go and travel to certain locations with landmarks and things like that, I do plan in advance things that are earlier in the day or later in the day. Not only is the light better, but also there's less crowds. So being an HSP helps me really prepare my travels, where I want to go, what things I want to do and who I want to be around or the interactions that I hope will maybe happen spontaneously.
Reminder that this is an uncensored, unfiltered brand where I am talking openly and honestly and factually as best I can. In a world that has become increasingly politically correct PC in what we say and what we do, I personally need a place where I can utilize my, as an American would say, First Amendment rights of freedom of speech. And again, I am an evidence-based, fact-based, experience-based person.
So I don't talk out of my ass and just say, I believe in something without any of those related things. And in addition, as someone who studied journalism and someone that is an INFJ, we are people who are definitely not into things that are mythological or theological. I am also a free thinker.
So with that, I will be sharing about in this next part of my podcast, which is about living with sensitivity, how being an HSP and INFJ shaped my world. This part, I am getting into the INFJ, which is about personality. Now, the first time that I really started understanding about personality was when I went to Costa Rica for my TESOL certificate so that I could teach English.
I did it there. Again, if you have listened to my first episode, I talked about my experiences. My first experience traveling independently was to Costa Rica. And so when I finally got the courage and knowledge to be able to know how to live abroad and make a living, it took me about 10 years, unfortunately, to get out of America and get back to the international world where I belong. And so when we were doing, I think, introductions and trying to find out more about what kind of teacher I was going to be. So I took an MBTI style personality test.
It's a Myers-Briggs type indicator test. My first time taking it was, I think, 2006. And I have taken it a few times between then and now.
And what I can tell you is that if you answer everything honestly, you should have the same personality again and again. Because I'll tell you one more fact is that personality does not change. It is who we are.
We can improve things. Like I am an introvert, and sometimes I am a little more extrovert. But in general, I am an introvert. And when I need to be more extrovert, because it's an extrovert world in the Western world, then I have to push up my extroversion when needed. I'm not saying I enjoy it, but I can flex that muscle when needed. And we are all supposed to be able to flex a little bit into a different personality or behavior because sometimes it is needed.
So we can't just in life say, well, I'm an introvert, so I'm not going to do something. No, I don't believe in that because that's just an excuse. Like I can tell people that I can meet you out and be in a loud place maybe for a little bit, but after maybe an hour or two maximum, I will leave. So I will be open to compromise at times, but more or less what I want to do or where I feel more comfortable, I will lean into that and be more of my authentic self. What can we change? Well, that's a good question.
If we can't change our personality, we can change our behavior, we can change our thoughts, we can change our actions, but that's it. We can change those three things more or less, but we cannot change other people and we cannot change our personality. And knowing who you are is very important to obviously what kind of work you want to do, what kind of friends you want, what kind of conversations you would like, what hobbies, what travel type you are, and knowing how to use your energy appropriately for yourself so that you don't burn out.
So now I'm going to share more deeply about my life here in the Philippines and how my personality versus their culture can go well together. But there are some conflicts in that as well, which has been very challenging for my life for the past few months that I've been here and it's consistent. So as I mentioned, I am an INFJ, so I am an introvert type.
But again, I mentioned in my trailer that I'm an ambivert, which means that I can and want to socialize with people, but I really do limit how much I do give and how much time because I really have to protect my energy. So I would say I'm a social introvert, but I definitely like my quiet time and my introversion and time to think and be with myself. Okay, so right now I do have my own Tahanan, I think I'm saying that right, Tahanan, which is my home.
I'm in the Batangas, which is if there was no traffic and that in theory, I would be maybe an hour and a half or so from Manila. And I chose this area because I have a friend who introduced me to her hometown and I'm in a community where I was introduced to some people so that I could have some friendship or community without being too isolated. And in this area of the Batangas, the weather is more my style right now this winter season because it is colder.
We're in a higher altitude, it's more of a mountainous area, not a beach. So therefore, it has a lot of breezes right now, cloudy, cooler temperatures, much more comfortable for someone like myself and my dog who has breathing issues as a Frenchie. So let me get into a little bit about being an INFJ, so introvert, intuition, feeling and judging. That is my personality type with Myers-Briggs of the 16. And let me point out the INFJ is 1 to 2% of the population of the world. So I am in a major disadvantage to the majority or the norms of personality types in this world.
And only like 1.3 or 1.4% are women. So the people that I can relate to or people that, let's just say, don't bother the crap out of me and those that I can have a really engaging conversation, those that I feel comfortable around, it is very small. It is very limited. On the outside, I look like just like this average American, which is true. In the inside, I am a walking recessive gene. Let me share a little bit about what it is to be an introvert on the extreme spectrum of the MBTI Myers-Briggs.
We are considered confusing, but interesting and beautiful creatures, as they would say. So I have mentioned with the HSP about being people pleaser. It could be part of this personality as well. But again, I have actively reduced that and this podcast is forcing me to not people please, because I'm really working on speaking from, again, my heart, speaking from truth and experience and really trying to be more of what I do believe in and what I do feel rather than worrying about if you agree or disagree or negative comments. And by all means, if you don't want to hear what I have to say, you can always change your podcast or the YouTube station. But I do hope you can stay and have an open mind.
I would like to hear more about your thoughts. Also, my emotions are my emotions. Yes. And when I'm in a situation with my job or in my travels, I really need to feel that it's the right fit. Again, I'm just not a person that's about money. I do need money, but I really have to enjoy what I do and I have to feel it deeply. It's something that has to be from a belief system of contributing to society or that art is something that offers children and adults both great skills and ways to deal with mental health or navigate this world in a more creative, unique way. And the next one I wanted to share about is we are people that what you see isn't always what you get. And this was written by someone else, but it's said to me all the time. Often people that know me don't believe that I'm an introvert because I'm so open with them and I talk a lot and I can be like even loud because I get excited, but they don't realize is again, I'm just a person that is feeling comfortable and safe with you. But I only prefer having one, two good friends and that's it. I do not believe in popularity contest.
And I certainly, again, most people I just, I don't jive with at all. And a lot of people drain my energy. As an introvert, I get my energy from the environment, from things that I do. But if I'm in the wrong environment and I'm doing the wrong things, it just drains me and people drain me, especially people who require so much attention. Because when I am a friend, I give someone my whole heart and attention. I really listen, but I don't necessarily get that in return.
But my personality type is so that I really listen. I'm really engaged. And that's why smaller groups or one-on-one is what I prefer because I want to give you my full attention. This is something that is a really, really extremely true about my personality. And that it's not good, but it's so true. Door slam isn't an overreaction to me. But if you are a person that wrongs me, like if I'm a friend to you and you wrong me, I slam the door in your face. Like you're done. You're not a friend anymore. Like that's extreme. And I'm not saying for anyone to be that way, but I am that kind of person. And as I get older, I know who's a good friend and who isn't. You know, I've done my work. I've worked on myself and I've worked on knowing by action who is a friend and who is just a friend when convenient. And when someone says they are too busy all the time, not a friend, especially if I've been there for them and listened to them. In the pandemic, there was a, you know, friends of mine that I knew from another country and they were the only people I knew, you know, I needed to lean on them a little bit. I also helped them with some of their English related needs for some of their studies and I helped them with that as well. But then they disappeared.
And then they said they were too busy to say hello, too busy to say hello. And in hard times, like the pandemic is like in China. No, you show up, you make time to check in and see how your friends are doing, especially in that kind of situation. So warning, if you are friends with an INFJ, this will be part of the relationships because their feelings will get hurt deeply. As I mentioned, I despise small talk. I really hate it. It irritates me so much that I really do have a physical like reaction to it. And when people ask me, like in this culture, in the Philippines, for example, like they'd be like, have you eaten dinner yet? Or have you eaten lunch yet? And I guess it's just a way of, you know, just saying hello, but it's just like, why the fuck are you asking me this question? Like, it doesn't matter. Like if I ate or not, like who gives a shit? You know, it's just, you want to talk with me? Let's have like, let's have a great conversation. And again, it could be funny.
It can be really about something as light as like a fart or, you know, something that just light the mood, but I just prefer clever, intellectual, enriching conversation. If I'm gonna give my energy to someone, if I'm going to want to get out of my little world in my home or whatever I'm doing in the outer world, it better be worth my time because otherwise, you know, please talk about this small talk with other people. I'm really not interested.
And it's one of the pitfalls, I think for me living in this culture right now is I'm not able to find right now people that I can really, really talk to. And that's just, you know, about even my day to day things that I'm going through that I really need a sounding board or some feedback, or it's just, this culture is very much about the jolly life, the happy life. They are not really into deep stuff.
It's not part of the culture here. If they do, then it's maybe within their own family or their most intimate of people. But outwardly, you know, in the world, this is not part of their way. You know, I've been in social gatherings and yes, there's the shyness, but it's not the language barrier either because many people that I encounter speak English and there's, you know, light, polite interactions. So it's a really difficult situation for me because I don't want to be in the busy, busy, loud city all the time because the noise is just irritates me. But at the same time, you know, I'm not getting soul food and I really need it.
So now that I have started to acclimate here and paperwork is processing and things are moving forward, I might consider a relocation. So now let me just review a couple of things that I like about this culture. So I have mentioned in my episodes about home and I've shared some really positive things about the Philippines in that they're very friendly.
They definitely will help you if they are available. They are people that also, um, say I'm busy. I'm busy all the time. And that can mean a couple of different things because like China, they, you know, save face. They don't want shame. And I believe it's called Hia. It's spelled like hiya, H-I-Y-A. And it's a Filipino value that translates to English on shame and embarrassment. It's a moral emotion of virtue based on representing oneself and family in an honorable way. So you definitely won't hear them start a conflict, a confrontation. If that they avoid it, like the plague, they will silence you or let's just say ignore and avoid you. And I've had that happen over and over with people in the community, in situations where I reach out to professionals with dealing with my properties. If they don't have an answer for you or they are shy or whatever, um, they will either ignore you and silence you out. I get that all the time. And it's really, really frustrating for me. And I get very, very angry.
And this is where, you know, being an HSP doesn't work well, because again, it's not necessarily about me, but this is their culture. But I just really can't tolerate it, especially that I'm new here. So this moral code they have, I experience it on a regular basis, but at the same time, I do keep them in check when I need to, because when you ignore and when you silence people, you're just avoiding a problem or situation. It does not resolve anything. And for me, like there are problems that need to be resolved because I can't, if there's paperwork needed, if something's broken, it needs to be fixed and ignoring it doesn't make it go away. So I kind of have to use my New York goals with getting things done.
I'm an efficient person and this culture is not efficient. If you want things done, you really got to take care of yourself and you have to step up. So if you can't really do it yourself, which I highly recommend, if you can do it yourself, do it yourself. That's why I build up my skills. And INFJ is usually a hyper organized person because they don't like to rely on other people because usually they are let down. And I am usually let down, like not just little, but a lot.
So I am hyper independent. I try to take care as much as I possibly can by myself because I believe people just fail miserably with help because, you know, it's, unfortunately we don't live in a world of, you know, just endless help. We do live in a world of, you have to be able to do more things on your own. People are busy. So let me share a real frustration today. Okay.
So I'm in a community, which is a subdivision, which is a little bit, of course, more expensive than the average place, but at the same time, there's security and there's more quiet and the quiet factor really is one of the bigger factors. I'm really not into community living, but this place offered me things that I really needed and including like a swimming pool and just other amenities that I needed to feel comfortable as I begin my life here. Now, yes, there's construction here and there is times where things aren't completely quiet, which is fine.
That's, you know, part of the life. Now on my street, there's a house that is getting, like it's not built, but I think it's getting refurbished or there's just a lot of construction in this house and they're using like the metal tools, you know, to weld and do all this stuff and bang and bang and bang, and it starts at seven o'clock in the morning and it ends at four o'clock in the afternoon with hopefully them taking a break at lunchtime for about an hour where it is quiet. Sunday is a day of going to church and a day of rest and it is not a day of construction here, so today, this morning, I heard some banging and things going on, not as to the extent of every other day, but it was still going on and I went outside and I took a photograph and video. I sent it to my landlady who isn't quite aware of what's going on because she doesn't live around here.
She also certainly doesn't check in to see how I'm doing. And when I need things, it's again, I'm busy. I'll get back to you. I don't know anyone to help you and all these excuses and this culture is a lot about the excuses. So I contacted the administration and, uh, they had the security come and have him stop. Now, the reaction to my landlady was this, she was like, I explained, I said, you know, please speak to them because the person I was working on is someone she knows, I go, please speak to them, then remind them that Sundays is a day off.
Well, so in a nutshell, she was saying, well, this is the life in the Philippines and there's noise. And if you don't like it, like, this is what she's saying to me. And I was trying to explain to her, no, this is Sunday and we live in a subdivision and that there are rules and regulations that are here in this living environment. And she's like, well, you take care of it. I'm like, well, it's kind of your job. You are responsible. You are the owner and you should be part of the solution in a nutshell. I mean, if I were to read our conversation, it would take a whole podcast. So there is a balance between what is the life here.
And there's also boundaries on what I will tolerate, especially when there are rules and regulations to follow. So again, I'm not like this type A rule person, but again, six days out of the week, I am dealing with at least eight hours of banging all day, every day. And Sunday's a day of rest. And that's what I need. So she did not want to participate in knowing this or to take care of this. Now, you know, there's other words that I've learned a little bit regarding this culture, and I'm probably not pronouncing it perfectly, but you can laugh if you are Filipino, that's fine. Pa-ki-ki-sa-ma (pakikisama), which is to avoid conflict and maintaining cohesion. And it's, for me, it irritates my core. And I experienced that also in China as well. There are a lot of similarities between the two cultures and that is one of them as well. And another word, um, is ba-ha-la-na (bahala na), an attitude to leave it to fate. Again, I don't leave things to fate. I have to deal with paperwork with my residency and my visa and, um, dealing with my life here on a day-to-day can be extremely frustrating, aggravating, and sucking my energy as an INFJ and an HSP. I am a person that needs to be part of a community. So I really do, um, need to build relationships and connections here.
I really do. Like I shouldn't be having arguments with a landlady. I need a home, you know, things like that.
But I'm not looking for an argument. I'm not looking for to have problems. But the thing is, is that she needs to show up and do the things that she's supposed to do as a landlady. And she's supposed to support me, especially when it comes to maintaining this house. And that's another thing is that the outside area has not been maintained. And I live in a community and I look like I'm living in a jungle or, you know, like a hobo's house. And I've had problems with toilets and things like that. And wasn't able to get her to do anything until I went to administration where they said, you have to speak to your landlady to get this stuff taken care of. So these are the kinds of things that as a foreigner, and that means any foreigner, not just an American, a foreigner, if you are a person like myself or a person that needs things to get done, it's going to be a little challenging here. I'm not saying things won't get done because they do get done. I do get things done. I mean, I do get help and I've had, you know, wonderful people, you know, put in some effort when I need it.
But once again, if it inconvenienced them, if they're busy, then you will not, you'll be ignored and you will be avoided. And I've experienced it in other cultures, by all means, Americans can do the same thing, you know, but it's much easier to avoid and ignore people when there's technology, because you no longer have to do things face to face. And it's so much easier to just erase a message or, you know, go to another person on your social media and just engage with them. A couple of more things that I'll share is that in Asia in general, not all countries, but a lot of them, it's more about collectivism than individualism. So when they think a certain way, it's usually that that's what you're going to get. I've lived and traveled in many countries that have this, and I just don't see any advantage to it at all. Like, I just don't see any evidence of it being for the greater good of their country, of their personal goals of progress and many other things. And it's boring to me because without individualism, it's like eating the same food every day, if you want to put it into a different way, or it's using the same crayon of colors or same music, the same song day in and day out. It's repetitive and there's no growth in that kind of group mentality. So problems aren't being resolved in that kind of situation. And also when you're a collectivism, you're not necessarily even taking accountability for your own behavior because everyone else is acting that way. And I believe in accountability for self. Again, I'm not saying for people to be individualistic a hundred percent of the time, but you got to start having your own ideas and your own opinions and take in the world around you like I do and introspect and be like, is this good for me? Is it good for my family? Is it good for our planet? What can I do to improve myself? What can I do to improve my behavior? What can I do to make things better for another person? These are kind of things that are introspective. These are the kind of qualities that, you know, I believe in. These things are really important topics and to get to know me. And if you appreciate what I have shared instead of judging me for being who I am, then you will appreciate more of when I contribute to my podcast about whatever topic. It really comes from a deep place, a soulful place, a place where I'm looking for truth and beauty and good morals and values. That is my goal. I'm not looking to just be happy. I don't believe in that. I believe that in order to have happiness, you've got to have sadness and suffering and other feelings, because happiness is a great feeling when it happens because it doesn't happen all the time. And I believe in hands on living and being in situations that challenge me like today and that, you know, I will have to continue to learn it until I get to the place where I don't have to deal with these things as often because I've grown to another level of myself and to be around people and places that reflect my home. And so what I talked about in my first episode that I am looking to attract more people that make me feel like home.
There is more I can share about the Philippines and more to come, but I think for now, this is a good start to my journey here in the Philippines as an INFJ. And you can leave in the comments about what your experiences are as either an INFJ, an HSP, but more so a person that might be Filipino and want to share more about your culture or a foreigner who wants to share their experiences with the Philippines and give me some tips or things like that. Constructive feedback is always welcomed, but that's what I shared for today. And so thank you for listening and I will see you soon.
And until then, go out and get your hands dirty. Bye bye. And that's a wrap for today's episode.
Thanks so much for tuning in and hanging out with me. If you enjoyed this podcast with no borders, no filter, and you feel a connection or a little inspired, please like, subscribe and share it with a friend. I truly can't wait to hear from you. Let's keep challenging the status quo with an unfiltered perspective. I'll be podcasting with real stories, interviews and reflections on my day to day and journey. In the meantime, explore your spirit, experience the world. Get to know me more by connecting to my social media at ExperientExplorer found in the description. Also, you can check out my photo website, dmeryl.net. That's D-M-E-R-Y-L dot net.
Until next time.