I am a self confessed introvert. Introvert-ism is a discovery I made recently after questioning myself why many times why it was so hard for me to find much enthusiam socially when everyone else made it look so simple. I guess in a way I wished I could be more comfortably outgoing.

My discovery came about as I participated in multiple personality tests and found that most of them came back with the same result: tendacy towards introvertism. And everytime I got that result I thought “No, thats not me…I’m happy and outgoing!” But eventually it dawned on me after I began to further investigate this idea of ‘introvertism’ – I fit the profile almost perfectly. But what does that all mean?

Many people frequently mistaken introvertism for shyness. To make it clear:

Hmm, okay I dont consider myself a shy person.

Heres a good comparison of Introvert Vs. Extrovert:

Introverts:

Enjoy time alone <-----Yes I do require alot of 'ME' time...

Consider only deep relationships as friends <-------Well I consider deep relationships as REAL friends.

Feel drained after outside activities, even if they were fun <--------Would that explain why I cant go out 2 nights in a row?

Good listener <------Hmmm Definately

Appear calm and self-contained <-------- When in distress I try to look semi happy but just end up looking expressionless.

Think then speak or act <-------Errr, ....not sure about this one, I can talk alot of poo some times...

Extroverts:

Like to be in the thick of things <——–Ah, not particularly.

Relish variety <——–I have to say I dont mind a bit of variety.

Know lots of people, considers lots of people friends <————No.

Enjoy chit-chatting, even to strangers <———-I rarely speak to strangers, I try to avoid it.

Feel stoked after activity <——’Stroked’??

Speak or act then think OR think while speaking <——–I think I’ve done this more than I would like to.

heres another list of attributes of an introvert I feel I can relate with:

-Time spent alone is essential. —— Yep!

-Too much time with people, particularly strangers, is often draining. ——- Very much so. I advoid speaking to strangers if possible!

-Affirmation, confirmation, or verification are gotten from our inner experience, from what goes on inside us. ——- Hmm..I think so.

-Time alone is needed to figure things out, to get in touch with our introspective strength. ——— Definately.

-Meeting new people is a challenge; we may avoid or postpone doing so. ————- Not sure about this one. I think it can be an exciting challange if its in the right situation.

-Finding the give-and-take of verbal interaction somewhat difficult to keep up with, has trouble “thinking on your feet”. ——– Oh yes.

-At meetings, may hold back, then have trouble getting into the discussion. ——- Yes I do. It can also be very frustrating.

-Likely to think afterwards of the thing to say–suffer from the “why didn’t I say … ” syndrome! ——— Only too many times….

-Often has good writing skills and prefers presenting ideas in writing. ———– This sounds silly but sometimes I write what I am going to say before a telephone conversation.

-Is not highly observant of the outer environment. ——— True..

-Is very aware of our inner reactions and tends to be introspective. ———- Definately. I tend to judge things on how I FEEL about them

-Generally difficult to get to know. ——– I dont think I am the easiest person to get to know.

-Many layers of personality are not obvious — can surprise people. ——— I dont think many people know who I really am. I surprise myself sometimes.

Okay the thing is: most of my life I’ve felt I’ve had to act a certain way to fit in. I envied the girls who where outgoing and charasmatic. They always seemed to have everything going for them and I always thought to myself: “Why can’t I be more like them? Why is it so hard for me?”. The truth is everytime I tried to be like ‘them’ I would feel stupid and fake…and it was oh-so-draining! How can they keep it up??

And now I realize why – Because I am not THEM, I am ME. I am the ME who needs time alone, I am the ME who is content with a handful of close friends, I am the ME who doesnt feel like I need to go out every weekend, and I am ME who doesnt speak with much eloquence. In a world where everyones an extrovert I felt like I had to be extroverted as well to fit in, but now I am beginning to believe its A-OK to be ME – An introvert.