Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Oh, but my massive popularity is no accident

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am an introvert. I scored higher as an "I" on the Meyers-Briggs test than on any other personality trait, and almost as strong an "I" as it's possible to be.

So here's a little bit more from around the web on what it means to be an introvert.

Introverts process their emotions, thoughts, and observations internally. They can be social people, but reveal less about themselves than extroverts do. Introverts are more private, and less public. Introverts need time to think before responding to a situation, and develop their ideas by reflecting privately. Introverts' personality traits can be passionate, but not usually aggressive.

More here.

Introverts:
Enjoy time alone
Consider only deep relationships as friends
Feel drained after outside activities, even if they were fun
Good listener
Appear calm and self-contained
Think then speak or act

More here. This site is too cute by quite a bit more than half ("Hi! I'm Teddi Turtle!"), but the information is valid.

When introverts want to be alone, it is not, by itself, a sign of depression. It means that they either need to regain their energy from being around people or that they simply want the time to be with their own thoughts. Being with people, even people they like and are comfortable with, can prevent them from their desire to be quietly introspective.

More here.

Most introverts don't like me, but I don't need them anyway. I have enough people desperately seeking my attention. Oh, but my massive popularity is no accident. I studied social psychology and human behavior for years to alter my personality and become a master of social manipulation and human interaction.

More here. Maybe this is a joke, but I don't think so.

One of the great things about being retired is that I'm able to almost completely manage the amount of time I spend around other people. No more networking for me, folks... have a good time at Toastmasters.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

well...then mikeC...by these definitions i too am an introvert... as i spend more time alone.. reflecting...thinking....feel drained by others...etc... perhaps we are in good company with one another...
some would say i am not introverted...but this tells me differently...

mcarp said...

Yeah... the fact that you and I are sitting about five feet apart right now and communicating by blog comments sort of suggests we value isolation...

Nina said...

Did you see this?

"Introverts make up about 60% of the gifted population but only about 25-40% of the general population."

There are fewer of us, but we're more likely to be gifted?

I must have missed something somewhere along the way.







rolstri

Anonymous said...

Yup, that's me too. I scored insanely high on the Introversion scale. And while people who know me at work find it quite unbelievable as I can be quite entertaining, I go home every night completely drained from having to deal with,ug, people.

Actually, understanding the Meyers-Briggs definition of introversion was incredibly helpful to me, as before I thought it was merely neurosis that was driving me.