Day 4 of 7: Introverts aren’t Diseased

When Jen announced this 7 posts in 7 days challenge one of her suggestions was go to through your drafts folder. Last year when she did this challenge she went through her drafts and deleted a ton of posts she just wasn’t feeling anymore. When I read that I thought nah…I don’t need to do that….

Well I curiously looked in my drafts folder JUST to see what was hiding in there…..I found 15 posts! I deleted several of them. I just wasn’t feeling them anymore. One I wrote and I guess I never finished and it was just about what I was reflecting on at the time…which is TOTALLY different than right now so it really wouldn’t make sense to post it anymore.

However, I did find this post about introverts that I started to write so here I am finishing it….

I wanted to write a blog post about being an Introvert. Lately I have been reading a TON of blogposts about introverts and tips for them in life, at events, at conferences, etc.

While YES I’m an introvert I can’t decide if I’m not as much as an introvert as I used to be and can now handle high extrovert events that much better or if these posts just are written poorly. Many of these posts make introverts look like diseased people that never leave their houses. Which just IS NOT TRUE!! Yes sometimes we might want that to be true but I know soo many introverts that LONG for community and friends and DON’T want to be locked up in their houses all the time.

According to about.com,  an introvert is a person who is energized by being alone and whose energy is drained by being around other people.

A lot of bloggers and writers are introverts which is probably why I love blogging so much. I have found MY PEOPLE!! Writing allows us to easily reflect on things by writing it down and process it internally verses talking out-loud or to people.

I first learned about a lot of introverts being bloggers last year during a #BlogChat on the subject. It was a great conversation about how introverts make good bloggers. The host of #BlogChat also wrote an excellent post about introverts being good at social media.

Here are some tips I’m leaving for all the introverts reading this blog:

1. Don’t be afraid of trying new things. Yes it’s going to be hard and weird and strange but in the end you’ll really appreciate it. I’ve gone to numerous talks/events alone and yeah it was weird but I never once regretted it and once I was there I always had a great time and learned new things!

2. Don’t let Extroverts Scare You. Sometimes I feel like Extroverts try to take over and overpower us and even belittle us. Don’t let them get to your head! We can do anything we set our mind to.

3. Study the differences between Introverts and Extroverts. I know this is kind of boring and lame and nerdy but I really think learning about introverts and extroverts think and operate can help everyone better communicate with each other.

4. Take a break from the chaos to reboot. Part of being an introvert is we need alone time to reboot from life. When I get home from work I don’t want to talk to people I just want to sit in my room and be alone and check things I haven’t been able to check throughout the day. This helps me be able to function better.

5. Don’t use your introversion as an excuse. Just because you’re an introvert doesn’t mean you can’t go to parties, conferences, big gatherings, talks, or even socialize! We all need to be able to go places where we learn new things and meet new people. As women we all need friends that we can communicate with and we need to be able to get out of our comfort zones and talk to them and meet them.

From one introvert to another I’m telling you this right now..YOU ARE NOT DISEASED. Nothing is WRONG with you. God made you just the way you are for a reason so don’t hide in your room because you think you can’t function outside the four walls because you are an introvert.

Go out into the world and meet people and do the things God wants you to do!!