What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a Introverted person?
- Shy?
- Quiet?
- A Loner?
- Depressed?
We have been programmed to think that there is something wrong with being an Introvert, but as Susan Cain explains in the video below, Introverts make up a third to a half of the population, meaning your brother, sister, mom or dad could be one.
Watch the video below.
My son asked me what and introvert was the other day?
I gave him the following definition which is what I have become accustomed to understand it as.
An introvert is someone who gains their energy from thinking inwardly. They need to recharge themselves by being alone with their own thoughts and feelings, from time to time, whereas an extrovert is the opposite. They like to talk to people and they gain their energy from interacting with others.
He said, oh, so you must be an extrovert Daddy, to which I replied “what makes you say that son”?
“Because you’re loud” he said.
And the truth is – sometimes I can be loud – haha. This is not to say that extroverts are loud – just me.
I am an Introvert
Those who know me think that I am extroverted, but the truth is I am introverted. Whilst I enjoy the company of others, I do need a break from people to recharge the batteries.
I think that we can all be both introverted and extroverted in varying degrees, and that no one is purely introverted or visa versa, however we all have a tendency to lean towards one type.
However, there is a misconception out there that suggests that you need to be an extrovert to succeed in business, but this is not the case, in my opinion, there are plenty of Introverted businessmen like Sir Richard Branson, who are thinkers. Although they appear shy, they actually process information differently.
According to Susan Cain, introverts make the best managers, because they can think a problem all the way through and can look at it objectively,but when she was growing up, people thought she was depressed because she liked to read books and keep to herself.
The message that she got from teachers and her peers was that – there was something wrong with being an introvert, so she became a Wall St Lawyer instead of a writer.