When people think of introverts they think of this guy at a party sitting in the corner staring at a wall who can’t initiate a conversation, or maybe even the quiet kid in school who wouldn't even attend that party. At least this is the image many people have of introverts.
The word ‘introvert’ has become synonymous with ‘shy’ or ‘socially awkward’.
You might have even heard someone say
“I was once an introvert and now look at me I’m all social and extroverted.”
What if I told you, it's not possible to go from being introverted to extroverted, introverts can do public speaking, and introverts can actually speak a ton. Some of you might be confused, but I’ll explain.
What is an introvert/extrovert?
Firstly let’s define what an introvert is.
The psychiatrist Carl Jung introduced the terms ‘introversion’ and ‘extroversion’. Introversion and extroversion don’t have much to do with how much a person talks, but with how their energy works or how their thinking works.
Jung said introverts, turn to their own minds to recharge, while extroverts seek out other people for their energy needs.
Introverts are more comfortable with speaking with one or two people at a time, while extroverts like speaking with larger groups.
Introverts need some break from too much socializing to recharge themselves, at least compared to extroverts. Too much stimulation or social attention can be overwhelming for introverts, while the same social attention can be energizing for extroverts.
Introverts generally enjoy quiet time and being with their thoughts, introverts generally like to introspect and take more time with decisions. Introverts also tend to like having a small group of friends and focus on developing deeper relationships.
Now introverts can still talk a lot, either with just one person, or small groups or to themselves(maybe that doesn’t count). Even public speaking is possible even if you are an introvert.
The public speaker Simon Sinek who’s an introvert says that he focuses on only one person in the audience at a time to make it comfortable to speak in public.
Keep in mind everyone has an introverted and extroverted side to them, for some one side is more dominant than the other, and for others, both sides are around the same.
You are born introverted. Like pretty much every other trait, introversion is influenced by genes and environment. Introversion and extroversion are traits that are inherited and aren’t malleable by choice.
The Advantage of being an introvert
Since this article has been dedicated to removing the negative connotation around the word introvert, I thought I’d list some advantages of being an introvert, especially since some of us view this as a world of extroverts, where those who know how to speak are the ones who succeed.
Some distinguished or you could say successful people who are introverted are Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein, Elon Musk, and Warren Buffet.
One thing about Introverts is that they are okay or even enjoy being by themself and thinking, which can be very useful to succeed in various fields.
If you want to find out if you are introverted or extroverted you can try an MBTI test. It’ll tell you if you’re introverted/extroverted along with other traits.
Both introverts and extroverts have their plus points, and I think everyone should be happy with what they have.
This article was just aimed at shining on some of the plus points of being an introvert because that isn’t shown a lot
Thanks for reading :)