Comments on: 5 Regrets I Have About Faking Being an Extrovert

By: sister2sister2sister

sister2sister2sister — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 18:36:24 +0000

Love your thoughts! Number 4 is critical throughout life. Well, they are all pretty critcal, but, imagine a wedding with no memories, children with no memories, vacations with nothing but pictures, winning an Olympic Gold without the memories of getting there and winning it…journals were made for introverts! Yes, to a degree, we own our time. Carving some just for me, my pen and my paper has been the key for being able to revel in the memories being made today. Very fine article!

By: Andrew Hardwick

Andrew Hardwick — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 07:29:24 +0000

Yes, I ran a Cub pack, and also rose to Master of a regional Masonic Lodge. Both of these activities took me so far out of my comfort zone that it wasn’t funny, but it also gave me a higher profile in the community than I would have had if I had locked myself away. And in doing so, I also was privileged to have gained the friendship of a brilliant elder statesman, who had an engineering degree and had been a pilot in WW1, and kept his intellect sharp until he died aged 99. So forcing sometimes pays dividends.

By: Martha Hochuli

Martha Hochuli — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 19:48:31 +0000

Well done, Anna. You probably don’t know that I’m an INTJ since I’m usually chatty around you. Yes, people exhaust me. I love to socialize but only on my terms. I throw myself into the moment, and then I retreat to my quiet space. Isn’t it beautiful how we’re all different? So glad you’ve found your comfort zone 🙂

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 17:18:38 +0000

A really lovely article, thank you very much for writing this. Embracing who we are is so important! 🙂

By: Bria

Bria — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 14:58:19 +0000

Thanks for this brilliant article! I have too many years felt ashamed being an introvert, thus I was trying to pretend that I am who I am not really am. Such stories help me to deal with my inside fears!

By: R

Mon, 09 Jan 2017 17:55:07 +0000

Many thanks, Anna. I needed this today. I really did. Thank you.

By: Britta

Britta — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 16:32:47 +0000

I’ve recently realized that I’ve been denying my true, introverted self for the majority of my teenage years and into my early twenties. It has made me incredibly paranoid and self-absorbed and has also kept me from focusing on the things that really matter to me in life. It has led me to invest a lot of time in the wrong people and I’ve convinced myself that I want a lot of things that I really don’t want. As a HSP INFJ, being so uncomfortable in my own skin has led me to become terribly misguided on more than one occasion. Becoming misguided, though, has also allowed me to become incredibly self-aware, and I’ve been embracing my introversion so much more lately. In doing so, the things I actually want for myself are starting to slowly become clearer and I also believe I’ve become a better and kinder person. We truly can’t help others until we help ourselves. This piece resonates so much with me right now. Thank you for sharing, Anna.

By: Raijin

Raijin — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 14:56:18 +0000

“Don’t use your introverted nature as an excuse to never try anything. I believe that everyone has their own balance, and you will find it eventually. ”
This is what i believe in my life for several years. Just because you’re an introvert doesn’t mean you have to always stay at your room and hiding from other people. Balance is all what we need, or perhaps, a little bit more tendency to introvert. Remember that God created this world with its good and bad sides, so just keep walking tall and with pride. ^___^

By: Laurie Sherfey

Laurie Sherfey — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 14:25:28 +0000

Spot on. I learned as I got older, the only time I could successfully fake extroversion was in any professional role. Then it amazed people that this shy, reserved loner could do something like confidently speaking in front of a large group, or be in charge of a meeting, or be a very competent supervisor (though I did more of that in my real introvert mode). Their expectations were based on knowing about my introversion. And the role-playing, though often exhausting, was in manageable amounts, with adequate “recharging” time built in. I could pick and choose when to go into extrovert mode.

Like you, in my personal life, I needed to stop feeling “broken” or inferior. And I longed to be accepted as I am. That came with time – though I wish I’d had your insight back when I was your age! Thanks for sharing – hope this helps many others get comfortable in their own skin, being authentically themselves. Life is much simpler and more satisfying when you just be yourself, with all your unique strengths and weaknesses. The irony is, that things I once thought of as weaknesses or failures have also at times been game changers in a very positive way.