As introverts we are much more powerful that we realize! Before I go into how that is so I think that understanding the nature of how introverts work is the best place to start, for instance:
What is an introvert?
An introvert is someone who recharges from alone time. Think of it like a really great cell phone that can do amazing things. You can use it quite a bit, but at one point the batteries will get low, and if you don’t listen to the “LOW BATTERY” blinking alert and stop what you are doing and re-charge it, it will simply shut down and stop working. The thing is, all humans are like this, but what is interesting with introverts is that being around people, talking, interacting and such is what drains them, and plugging into themselves through along time is what re-charges them.
What is an extrovert?
An extrovert is the opposite of an introvert. They actually re-charge their batteries by being around other people, and the more the merrier. You could almost say that they plug in to other people to re-charge. Extroverts don’t feel good being alone and get drained from that if they do it too long, which is why they always try to get people to spend time with them. Extroverted people used to tell me there was something wrong with me because I was just too introverted, like that was a bad thing, and I needed to fix that. To them they could not understand the perspective of being an introvert, but the guilting worked really well for them to get me to do what they wanted, but I just felt really drained afterwards by doing that.
In fact, from a book I read about introverts, 50.5% of the population across the globe are introverted, so we introverts make up the slight majority, but it just doesn’t seem so because the WAY OUT THERE people who like attention from other people and crowds, who make the most noice, are the extroverts, so it just seems like there are more of them.
As well, a portion of the population are H.S.P. which means Highly Sensitive People, and the majority of them are introverts because they are so much more INNER connected with their need to have more inner alone and self reflection time. Being highly sensitive sounds bad, particularly to men, as we have been taught that being too emotional is bad. Actually being HSP is about being more in-tune with your inner self in relation to the outer environment.
Historically, HSPs have been the most important people in the tribe that insured survival. The Gazelle that is the most highly sensitive will just know danger is near far before the others, as they are so much more in-tune with their inner feeling sensations and outer environment, so they can sense when the lion is near. Now-a-days we don’t have to be so worried about survival as we did long ago in the past, but our heightened instincts are still available to use in all the parts of our lives, even business. Introverts have better access to this inner power, that results in much better guidance from their intuition and gut instincts. They can better assess what decisions will yield the best results, and when someone is lying to them.
The thing is with introverts, we are much more susceptible to get burned-out with lifestyles that require us to be around other people. We can get depleted really easily if we have to put ourselves out there too much in business or social situations. We need to listen to our battery state to know when we need to take a break, be alone, and recharge. When we are recharged, we can work miracles in such a powerful flow, but when we are drained, we are as good as a cell phone with a dead battery.
What re-charges you? For me it is walks in the forest, meditation, reading, or something like that that allows me to just be around my own energies without having any pressure to interact with others at all.
I hope this is helpful to you,
Arne
