Introversion

I just finished reading a wonderful article in one of my favorite publications, Time magazine. This may come as a shock to some of you, but my closest friends know that despite my loud laugh and boisterous personality, I am actually a closet introvert. To be exact, an ambivert, since my personality actually lies closer to the middle of the extrovert-introvert spectrum. This is fundamental because it clarifies what some may misconstrue as moodiness or indifference.

Just because I'm quiet doesn't mean I'm angry. "Research suggests that extroverted leaders are more likely to  make quick and sometimes rash decisions, while introverted leaders tend to gather more evidence and are slower to judgment."

Just because I'm not wanting to go out for a night on the town doesn't mean I'm lame. "Introverts shun social situations because...they simply want to be alone."

I know I recently talked about being fake in a recent blog, but full disclosure reveals that I am also a faker. "Faking it is exactly what a lot of introverts learn to do from an early age."

I started running in college to get out of a very busy house full of roommates and their live-in boyfriends. Seriously. I needed time to decompress, and I affectionately called it "me time." I've always known that I needed time to re-charge, to get away from the noise and madness of everyday life. Don't get me wrong - I love my job, which involves a LOT of interaction and a LOT of teamwork, but I am secretly glad that it also involves a LOT of work to be completed alone and individually at a desk, away from everyone and everything. "Introvert - prefers to be alone or in small groups; is quickly exhausted by parties and other large social situations."

But I don't let my aversion to extroversion make me a hermit or an agoraphobe like my neighbor (yes, literally). "Am I just going to let things wash over me, or am I going to strike out and change and grow and challenge? The answer depends on what you want out of life." I want MUCH more out of life, so I MAKE myself mingle, which I absolutely abhor, and meet other people, maybe even other introverts.

But in case you were wondering the real reason I don't like to talk when I dance...it's not only because I can't HEAR you; it's also because I don't WANT to hear you.

And like a good friend of mine says, no one can do me better than me. "I'm happy to be an introvert, but that's not all I am."