Introversion Is Not A Personality Flaw

Being an Introvert, has anyone ever made you feel like Introversion is a personality flaw? They made you feel like you do not belong in a society just because it seems to be in favor of the Extrovert. As part of our human nature, we long for the feeling of belongingness.

That’s why perhaps it crossed your mind, that for you to be able to fit in, you need to conform and act like one of them, without you knowing that just like they do, you also have your own strengths and potentials that lie within your individuality, that could make a significant difference to make a change in the society. And just because you feel left out for being different, you risk all your energy to blend in, when you don’t really have to.

As to what Dave Grohl said, “No one is you, and that is your power.” With your own strengths and potentials, why are you so afraid to stand out?

I know you. I know you’ve been labeled with different things you are not. You’ve been called shy when they thought you wouldn’t fully engage in conversations, when in reality you are fervently listening and trying to understand what they are saying. When Stephen Covey talked about Communication, he said, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” You don’t just hear words but you go down deep and hear their emotions, too. You will always choose to listen than to speak, merely because as much as how you wanted to be heard and be understood, you know they wanted to be heard and be understood, too.

In fact, you don’t just engage with conversations, you get lost in them. You’ve always craved for deep conversations where you’ll talk about life– the beginning and end of it, and everything in between. You dreaded small talk, and perhaps it is the reason why they’ve called you rude, when all you wanted was a genuine human interaction.

As much as how you love to have meaningful conversations with people, you also love how they interact with each other, too. And everytime you go out there, you always savor the moment of looking around while being dazzled by how we are all connected to each other, despite how big the world is. And by means of looking around, you don’t just look at everything around, but you appreciate all of it; that is how you interact.

But we all know that going out for Introverts requires a lot of energy, and sometimes you spend a longer time staying at home, recharging your energy by being alone, than spending your time outside. By doing so, they’ve called you dull for being a stay-at-home kind of person.

At the end of the day, with all those labels, you just long for respect and equality.
I know how much you’ve tried to prove yourself, and maybe you’ve already grown tired– tired of being told to ‘come out of your shell’ when everyday you showcase your strengths and all they see are flaws just because it differs from theirs.

This may be stubborn, but this I tell you: never grow tired of being yourself. You may seem different to them and people will look at you and their glares will seem to say that you do not fit in and that you should be fixed, but remember, you should not need to try to fit in where you already should have fit in, and you should not be fixed, when you are not to be fixed. Because without you being yourself, there won’t be a balance between your differences with the Extroverts.

Our strengths may differ from each other, but when not altered, together we can flourish it and tip the scale of serving the common good; that is why just like them, you also matter. Like what St. Teresa of Calcutta has said, “We know that whatever we do is simply a droplet in the ocean; but if that droplet went missing, the ocean would be lacking.