The 9 Hallmarks Of Being An Introvert

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1. You like people. You really do. You just prefer your own company to theirs. While you like to be around people, you can’t be around a lot them for extended periods of time. There are those who need to use outings and social settings as an energy source, and there are those who need significant time alone for a recharge. You are of the latter.

2. Within an hour of your arrival to a party, bar or other similar social events, you find yourself counting down, the hours, minutes, and seconds until it’s time for you to go home. The scene becomes too overwhelming: the constant chatter, the loud music, the forced interaction. The longer you stay there, the more distressed you become until eventually everyone looks like one big blur and the room begins to spin a bit. It could be the alcohol but it’s probably just because you’re an introvert.

3. You have no problem spending an entire day alone doing nothing. You don’t think of it as wasted time because you don’t feel the need to be productive every waking second of your life. You rarely ever get bored but when you do, it’s nothing a good book or movie can’t cure. On these days, you prefer to use your time sitting back and reflecting upon the current state of your life. You’re alive. Check. You’re healthy. Check. You’re happy. Check. You’re good.
 
4. When you do go out, you generally stick to the group of people who managed to drag you out of the house because these are people you already know you like. You’re not particularly fond of meeting and learning new people.

5. This is why the circle of close friends you’ve built over the years has always been relatively small. For you, less is more. You do, however, have a wide variety of acquaintances, or people you just know from school or work.

6. You screen your calls. You don’t do it to be rude or neglectful. You do it because, well, you don’t feel like talking at that moment. You may not return your missed calls for days, if ever. It’s safe to say you break all the rules of proper phone etiquette.

7. You would give away your first born for the opportunity to work from home and not have to deal with people every day. You thrive when you can control your work environment, where the only person occupying it is you and there are little to no distractions.

8. People think you’re shy and a bit awkward upon first meeting you. Your friends, however, can attest that you’re far from it. Once you’ve become comfortable around new people (which you admit can take quite some time), you will proceed to talk their heads off about anything and everything.

9. You’re not a fan of small talk. Conversations with you typically involve views on the meaning of life, goals and ambitions, and other thought-provoking topics. You are aware that discussing these kinds of topics isn’t very conducive when it comes to networking and meeting new people, but this does help weed out the dull people you were never really interested in knowing in the first place.