Confessions of an Introvert

Introverts and Extroverts are two categories people can be classified into, and these terms are too common for their meaning to be discussed here. In case you have a doubt, you know what to do. For the rest of this article, I’ll be calling them I’s and E’s in quotes just for the sake of less redundancy.

There is a communication gap between the ‘I’s and ‘E’s , and that is reason why ‘I’s are perceived to be anti-social, arrogant, losers and timid. They are seen as weak of will people, who are always unsure about their thoughts. ‘I’s get to hear a lot of comments like : Don’t you like people? Why don’t you show up at parties? Why are you not contributing? Are you afraid? Hey you are lonely and I’m coming over to spend the weekend with you ! (Gawd)

I would say the reality is somewhat different. An ‘I’ is usually a normal person who communicates less and differently. They can be good people and bad people, possess moods, and have likes and dislikes, just like other people. They aren’t anti-social and can function just fine in the society. What is really needed is just some mutual understanding.

It is important to note that there is an important line of difference between ‘I’s , and people who are left alone because nobody wants to talk to them. ‘I’s are loners by choice and find happiness in their loneliness. They can spend hours doing what they like, which could be a hobby or some artistic endeavour and not share it with anybody. ‘I’s are generally confident people and like to talk, but are very choosy about who they share their thoughts with. It is also true that they would not speak until they have analysed and reflected upon what they have to speak. This is a good quality since they would never mislead anyone, but at the same time this creates a communication gap. This means that you should not expect an ‘I’ to respond quickly, since his each thought has to be analysed in depth and polished before it comes out of the mouth. This also means that an ‘I’ should not be interrupted if he actually gets down to talking. If they speak but the words are not well received, they would not make the same mistake again. This is also a reason why I's prefer written conversations.

One would rarely see any confident gesture from these creatures, but it is not exactly the lack of confidence, but distrust. Most ‘I’s think that the world around them was not good enough to hear from them. They would take pleasure in the weaknesses and imperfections of other people, their stupid haughtiness and meaningless show-off. It is actually more likely that an ‘I’ would take an ‘E’ to be stupid than the opposite. They might be worthless creatures in the social setup, but I's are kings of their own worlds where they rule and have perfect order...sounds too fancy to believe..does it ?

‘I’s are more sensitive to the details of things. So with that dumb expression on the face, they would see a lot more than an average person. They notice a lot of things which others ignore. They make good linguists, grammarians, scientists and researchers. It is more likely for an ‘I’ to extend help to you in your time of need, this is because they notice your need when others do not. They prefer written conversations, reflect before they speak, analyse without biases and hence can make great leaders. They however cannot function in a setup which does not trust them. We do have many examples of ‘I’s who have done extremely well in their life, for e.g Einstein, Bill Gates, and many more.

However, not all ‘I’s are good people. They can be rude, jealous, conspirators, even cold blooded murderers and corrupt, just like others. But with the lack of communication, it is hard to tell whether one is good or bad.

The main idea which appears is that, ‘I’s should not be considered a different sect of society just because they are different. They should be accepted in the main stream life. After all, they’re just one among us.

Some similar interesting reads are :
Jerry Brito 's Blog
the 23 signs