I’m often asked why this blog is titled “Introvert”. Well part of it is because I AM one — but I’m also interested in temperament and how introverts and extroverts react to life, the world, and everything.
There are probably hundreds of articles on introversion and extroversion so I won’t add a long treatise to the list.
I will try to pinpoint a couple of general traits that may help you identify which you are.
First, I personally am an introverted extrovert — by this I mean that I love visiting with people and don’t fear social situations where I know people or have been invited for a specific purpose. But I am highly uncomfortable in unstructured social situations such as wedding receptions, social get-togethers where I don’t know many people, etc.
But a key to an introverted definition has to do with what gives you energy or makes you tired. An extrovert can come out of an unstructured social situation with more energy. An introvert comes out of the same situation, well, tired! Social situations cause the introvert to need to recharge — typically by having quiet down time reading, listening to music, web browsing, or sitting in nature.
There are degrees of introversion and extroversion. There are other social factors such as family, workgroup, number of close friends (which is usually a small number with introverts).
So determine your degree of introversion by this simple ratio – amount of social interaction equated to “X” amount of needed downtime to recharge. The bigger your “X” factor is the more introverted you are.