Gentle Rebels are both born AND made.

Every human has it in them to develop their gentle rebellion. Many introverts and Highly Sensitive People are naturally orientated toward the world in this way.

Despite the way it can sometimes come across from society, gentleness is an attractive and sought after way of being. My article, The 7 Habits of Highly Gentle People remains one of the most popular posts I've written. It looks at how we have misconstrued strength with aggression, and confused gentleness with weakness.

In reality, gentleness truly is the greatest strength we can possess.

It takes dedication and perseverance to remain gentle in the face of an ungentle and insensitive world. It's a choice that must be frequently made, rather than simply something you're born with and keep all your life.

Yes, introverts and HSPs may sometimes have natural gifts that point towards gentleness (processing peoples' feelings, noticing the causes of situations and being able to observe deeply, both consciously and unconsciously).

However as we mentioned in the previous episode, in the face of an insensitive and ungentle world there are easier and more obvious options. Either to dwell in the shadows or instead accept the status quo and play along (harden ourselves, 'man up' and ultimately perpetuate the normalised way of being).

In this episode I look at 7 distinctive characteristics I believe Gentle Rebels prioritise. I haven't done this to paint an unrealistic idealistic picture that we could never dream of living up to. Rather I unpack each one in a way to encourage us to engage with natural instincts and values; mindsets that come naturally but are oddly rebellious against prevailing societal logic and norms. They are values rather than ideals and stand counter to those two major values of extrovert-centrism that I mentioned in the previous episode; ultra-competitiveness and violence.

The 7 Characteristics of a Gentle Rebel:

Reflective, Thoughtful, and Active

Carry Hope in Their Hearts

Compassionate and Empathetic

Peacemakers and Trust-Builders

Intuitive and Prophetic

Creative

Communal

In the final episode of this bonus series of podcasts we will focus in on some of the negative side effects that these gifts can bring. We will think about how to protect ourselves from some of the inevitable risks that come from being a gentle rebel. In particular:

Overwhelm and Burnout

Information/Emotion Fatigue

Social Isolation