Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

[Allan]

Everyone on a discussion forum is an extrovert, but in real life are you an introvert or an extrovert, or somewhere in the middle?

There are lots of definitions of each online and if you want you can take a test on Psychology Today's website.

The measure I've always thought was valid is this: at the end of a work day would you prefer to party at the local pub with buddies or go home and take it easy?

 

[americanwoman]

Everyone on a discussion forum is an extrovert, but in real life are you an introvert or an extrovert, or somewhere in the middle?

There are lots of definitions of each online and if you want you can take a test on Psychology Today's website.

The measure I've always thought was valid is this: at the end of a work day would you prefer to party at the local pub with buddies or go home and take it easy?

Somewhere in the middle. I am really shy and quiet in person but I do like to hang around people and don't mind being in the mix just people watching and enjoying myself.

 

[Josie]

1,000% introvert.

 

[Allan]

I'm an introvert and took that Psychology Today test. I scored 19 - I'm not very sociable! I avoid parties especially if it's people I don't know very well and would rather spend time with my GF, reading or with you lot.

I have the typical introvert characteristic of having fewer but closer friends. I still have friends from high school and we're close.

Introversion was an issue at work because I managed people for 33 years, eventually in a senior position where I had to hobnob, give presentations etc. So I had to force myself into an extrovert position almost every day at work. In my early twenties I took the Dale Carnegie Course and that helped a lot. Lessons I still use to this day.

 

[code1211]

Everyone on a discussion forum is an extrovert, but in real life are you an introvert or an extrovert, or somewhere in the middle?

There are lots of definitions of each online and if you want you can take a test on Psychology Today's website.

The measure I've always thought was valid is this: at the end of a work day would you prefer to party at the local pub with buddies or go home and take it easy?

Well, I'm retired and have no work day.

I guess that makes me an introvert.

It could just make me worn out and ready for the discard pile.

 

[Demon]

Very much an introvert.

 

[Allan]

Well, I'm retired and have no work day.

I guess that makes me an introvert.

It could just make me worn out and ready for the discard pile.

Warren Buffet puts his age in depreciation terms, that he's "getting down to salvage value".

 

[Daisy]

Introvert all the way...I need/thrive on alone time...

 

[Underestimated]

IRL I'm in the middle. I was never fully comfortable speaking to large crowds but I had to do it at times. Left to my own devices I'd be 90% introvert.

 

[CimpleMan]

Only discovered the terms introvert and extrovert about 10 years ago. Susan Cain's book Quiet: The Power of Introverts is one of my favs. Just prefer reading, listening, and watching to talking. I need more down time than most people, over stimulation is a problem for me.

 

[Antiwar]

Everyone is on a spectrum and everyone varies throughout the day and their life.

I'm more introverted.

The main difference is how and where we get energy. Extroverts need others to get them energized.

 

[ataraxia]

I have never taken a formal test, but I am probably more of an introvert. I have a few close friends, I enjoy spending time with family, I even enjoy occasional parties and other people- but only to a certain extent. It’s like salt in your food. If I don’t get regularly get a fair amount of time alone, to think, reflect, read, and think, I start to feel like I’m suffocating.

 

[Demon]

I'm an introvert and took that Psychology Today test. I scored 19 - I'm not very sociable! I avoid parties especially if it's people I don't know very well and would rather spend time with my GF, reading or with you lot.

I have the typical introvert characteristic of having fewer but closer friends. I still have friends from high school and we're close.

Introversion was an issue at work because I managed people for 33 years, eventually in a senior position where I had to hobnob, give presentations etc. So I had to force myself into an extrovert position almost every day at work. In my early twenties I took the Dale Carnegie Course and that helped a lot. Lessons I still use to this day.

Your work sounds like hell to me, lol.

I can be social, but only sometimes, and never because the situation calls for it. I require enormous amounts of time to myself.

Forums like this were made for introverts - you can interact as much or as little as you'd like. On a diamond/jewelry forum I belong to, probably 90% of us are introverts. But luckily
there are always enough extroverts to start threads.

 

[Allan]

Your work sounds like hell to me, lol.

Yeah parts of it were a chore I'd rather have passed on. The worst were annual meetings and corporate social functions. You can't really duck out early like you would at a neighborhood house party.

My boss, who was our Canadian corporate president, is one of the most skilled people I've ever met when it came to interacting with people and holding difficult meetings and presentations. He surprised me a few years ago by pointing out that he was also an introvert, and really didn't like the job he was doing. He preferred operations, whereas his role required a lot of sales work which he found unpleasant. But he forced himself to do to the highly social aspects expected of his role and excelled at it. I suspect there are a lot of people in business who'd rather not be in situations that required extroversion. I think Covid has given them a welcome break!

 

[Helix]

i'm more of an introvert. i fronted a band for a long time, so i can do the social thing successfully, but my recharge time has increased with age. when i find out about a social event that i can't really say no to, my first emotional response is dread. it's fun for a while, but then i feel my energy draining. i'm also not a fan of big family events that you have to stay at all day because everyone wants to talk and talk and talk. my limit is about two hours, and then i'm generally sneaking off to wait to leave.

 

[X Factor]

I’m both. There are times I like to be left alone but when I’m in a group I’m a total attention whore.

 

[Demon]

Yeah parts of it were a chore I'd rather have passed on. The worst were annual meetings and corporate social functions. You can't really duck out early like you would at a neighborhood house party.

My boss, who was our Canadian corporate president, is one of the most skilled people I've ever met when it came to interacting with people and holding difficult meetings and presentations. He surprised me a few years ago by pointing out that he was also an introvert, and really didn't like the job he was doing. He preferred operations, whereas his role required a lot of sales work which he found unpleasant. But he forced himself to do to the highly social aspects expected of his role and excelled at it. I suspect there are a lot of people in business who'd rather not be in situations that required extroversion. I think Covid has given them a welcome break!

I haven't minded Covid for this reason. Kudo's to you and your boss for being able to get out there and at least act social.

 

[Demon]

i'm more of an introvert. i fronted a band for a long time, so i can do the social thing successfully, but my recharge time has increased with age. when i find out about a social event that i can't really say no to, my first emotional response is dread. it's fun for a while, but then i feel my energy draining. i'm also not a fan of big family events that you have to stay at all day because everyone wants to talk and talk and talk. my limit is about two hours, and then i'm generally sneaking off to wait to leave.

Two hours is pretty good! My brother's wife has a HUGE family. At gatherings, its nice for a bit, but then I'm feeling like I have to get out of there. I imagine my own family would produce the same results if there were more of us.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Everyone on a discussion forum is an extrovert, but in real life are you an introvert or an extrovert, or somewhere in the middle?

There are lots of definitions of each online and if you want you can take a test on Psychology Today's website.

The measure I've always thought was valid is this: at the end of a work day would you prefer to party at the local pub with buddies or go home and take it easy?

I am an ambivert actually.

 

[Port & Starboard]

Neither really...

When I am around people I trust, I can toss out my fair share of mischievous humor and mix in nicely.

When I am around snobs & dick heads , I can be about as accommodating as warm prison shower.

 

[Helix]

Two hours is pretty good! My brother's wife has a HUGE family. At gatherings, its nice for a bit, but then I'm feeling like I have to get out of there. I imagine my own family would produce the same results if there were more of us.

yep, that describes it pretty much exactly. my wife's family is huge, and any event is all day long and into the evening. mine is small, and it's three hours tops.

 

[Demon]

yep, that describes it pretty much exactly. my wife's family is huge, and any event is all day long and into the evening. mine is small, and it's three hours tops.

Lol, are we related?

 

[Allan]

i'm more of an introvert. i fronted a band for a long time, so i can do the social thing successfully, but my recharge time has increased with age. when i find out about a social event that i can't really say no to, my first emotional response is dread. it's fun for a while, but then i feel my energy draining. i'm also not a fan of big family events that you have to stay at all day because everyone wants to talk and talk and talk. my limit is about two hours, and then i'm generally sneaking off to wait to leave.

My girlfriend's family is large, close and nearby. I'm not alone in my aversion to the gatherings as most of the husbands are absent as well. I'm not big on small talk so having to do that for more than a few minutes is agony.

 

[Allan]

Only discovered the terms introvert and extrovert about 10 years ago. Susan Cain's book Quiet: The Power of Introverts is one of my favs. Just prefer reading, listening, and watching to talking. I need more down time than most people, over stimulation is a problem for me.

I read that. Up until then I saw shyness as a personality flaw but learned quickly that it's more common than I thought (even on this thread you can see it's not unusual at all) and nothing to feel awkward about.

That gave me a bit more leeway (after I retired) to establish my own routines of what I will or will not do. Yes I'll go to a party, but only if it's close friends and only for a couple of hours tops.

 

[Patriotic Voter]

I join message boards to have a social life. For medical reasons I prefer to not to discuss here, making friends offline is impossible. I have no problem with talking to strangers and am mentally incapable of recognizing a bad guy when I see one. If my mom says do not talk to this guy because he is weird, I am totally confused. But if I go somewhere that is a social event for everyone else, I am doing it for the activity itself - food at a restaurant, music at a concert, etc. If people just want to chat, they can chat on the couch.

As for being able to start a conversation: It all depends on who I am talking to. Once at a party a lady showed a clear interest in conversing with me. I would have loved to start talking to her. The only problem was she is wheelchair dependent, so I know my interests do not sound right to discuss with her as someone who can't travel or have any pets. So it was one of those, "What can I talk to her about?" moments and I bypassed the chance to have a fun conversation.