The battle of the introvert/extrovert is like the battle of Ferrari and Lamborghini, or Lowe’s and Home Depot. Through the years many of us have our own preconceived notions about both personality traits. Who’s right and who’s wrong? The short answer is absolutely no one.
Growing up I was the classic extrovert. Extremely outgoing, social, and pretty much a live wire. So, I guess perhaps I was an extreme extrovert?! My trait was class clown and social dragonfly. I bet you thought I was going to say, butterfly, huh? I could recall many people making fun of shy kids in the class or the ones that were socially awkward. It seems these days people label introverts as, Emo’s (emotional people).
Making fun of people just isn’t nice. I like to make fun of people in sarcastic and fun ways. I am not a fan of labels but in the interest of going through the character traits and gathering information for the end result of understanding others, I think it’s a good idea.
Introvert: (according to Webster’s Dictionary)
a person whose personality is characterized by introversion: a typically reserved or quiet person who tends to be introspective and enjoys spending time alone
Extrovert: (according to Webster’s Dictionary)
a person whose personality is characterized by extroversion: a typically gregarious and unreserved person who enjoys and seeks out social interaction
There is a gray area
Not everything is black and white though, there are gray areas. Some of us like to dance back and forth between the lines. It is my belief that it makes for a great recipe. Introverts are viewed as the oddballs but that really isn’t the case. They don’t follow society’s norms. I don’t like following the crowd myself. Introverts soak in a lot and are great problem solvers and great thinkers. In fact, many introverts are farther ahead in education and get better grades than extroverts.
The studies prove that introverts are more academically inclined than extroverts. No, I can’t recall which study. Google it!! But on that note regarding extroverts being all over the place, they too possess wonderful traits.
Stop labeling each other
We as a society are so stuck on labels of all different sorts. Why do we need them? We shouldn’t try to mold ourselves into the mass society. You shouldn’t act like an extrovert if you are an introvert. You should be who you are. Think for yourself and develop your own personality. As stated before, you don’t have to be one-sided or the other.
A super cool bonus that I didn’t even know! The gray area between introverts and extroverts is ambivert. Yep, it’s got a name.
Ambivert: (according to Webster’s Dictionary)
a person having characteristics of both extrovert and introvert
These days I have migrated into an ambivert trait. I like to be by myself away from large crowds so I can take things in differently. In my own way. No right or wrong way of being. I am just myself. My brain needs to decompress from time to time from being live and in color. We need to collaborate with all different types of personalities. That’s the way to get things done!
Conclusion
Introvert and extroverts are personality traits that have really cool characteristics individually but when you combine the two traits in one person you get, ambivert. Well rounded I guess. But that doesn’t mean that if you are completely one-sided that you aren’t well rounded, you are you. And you are amazing!
Question
What are your thoughts about these traits? Which are you? Tell us below.
