Friday, April 20, 2012

It's Hard Out There for an Introvert

A few interesting articles have come out recently regarding introversion, including this interview on NPR. I had the chance to work with the Myers-Briggs personality test when I was in physical therapy school. I took the test, and it confirmed what I already suspected, that I was indeed an introvert. Many of today's work places are not designed with introverts in mind. My day job is in a wide open space with very little privacy. I think I cope with it just fine, but by the time I get home, all I want is to curl up in a corner by myself for a little while. Not easy to do with a toddler around. Impossible, in fact. The next best thing is hanging out in the backyard and letting him run around with the dogs while I decompress.

So I don't find it surprising that my major outlet is writing. It's solitary, requires silence (for me at least... I know some writers who need noise or music), and allows me to hang out in my head for a little while. Bliss! And I enjoy social media because it allows me to connect with people at my own pace.

It's been interesting watching my 2 year old develop. He's a bit like me in that it takes him a while to warm up to situations, and so I suspect he might be an introvert also. I wonder how he'll do in a school system that seems increasingly geared towards extroverts.

7 comments:

  1. The best explanation I've heard is this: Extroverts are energized dealing with other people, while introverts expend energy dealing with other people.
    Caring for Your Introvert

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  2. Excellent description, Comic Guy. And thanks for the link.

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  3. I've taken the Myers-Briggs test and I was smack dab in the middle of the continuum between introvert and extrovert, which sounds about right. I thrive on getting up in front of groups of people, but one on one drains me, although if I had to spend my entire day performing, presenting, etc, that would drain me, too. Too much solitary time is also draining. I need a delicate mix of upfront and solitary time. Ironically, many people who meet me think I'm quite extroverted when they meet me.

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  4. Did I just use meet twice in the same sentence? Argh!

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  5. Susan, LOL at the second post! Interesting that one on one time drains you. And when I met you, I had you pegged as an extrovert, but now I can definitely see how you fall in the middle.

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  6. Rebecca, I'm a incoming PT student. Do you think PT is a good profession for an introvert?

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    1. Hi Sophie! First of all, congratulations on your acceptance to PT school. That's quite an accomplishment.

      To answer your question, yes, I do believe that PT is a good profession for an introvert. I still enjoy it after 13 years, and I consider myself very introverted. My boss is also an introvert, so I think that helps.

      I think it takes a little bit of work for an introvert. I wrote another blog post in which I went into more detail. I hope some of the tips work for you:

      http://rebeccarolandwriter.blogspot.com/2013/02/for-introverts.html

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