I'm an Introvert.
Yeah yeah. I can tell you're shocked. Most people are when I tell them. Because people assume that I'm an extrovert because they see me 'out there' online or chatting comfortably at an event, or hosting Twitter spaces or doing a thousand other things. Basically they don't see me acting 'shy' so think I must be an extrovert.
But Shy-ness has nothing to do with being an introvert.
Sure there are some introverts who are shy, but that's not because they are introverted. That's because they are shy. The terms introvert and extrovert actually refer to how we process the information around us, rather than about how shy or loud we might be in social situations.
Carl Jung first started sorting people into these two categories in the 1920's. He noticed that Introverts tend to turn inwards in order to recharge their energy, whereas extroverts get their energy or their 'charge' from being around people.
I'm a fairly confident person these days because I've learned SKILLS over the last 20 years of being in people-based industries. But after a long day of being 'on' around people... I need alone time. I need time to be in my thoughts, time away from the noise. This is what recharges me. And it's how introverts are.
As introverts, we are allowed to like being around people, and even to look forward to it. But there are times when we'll decline invitations if we can feel our energy is too drained.
And if you're an introvert, remember that you still need people. You can't live in a void, you need the interaction and the stimulation. You then just need to hide away for a while to process all that stimulation.
Hi, I'm Ev and I'm an Introvert.
