There are two kinds of people in the world: Introverts and extroverts. However, within those two groups, people typically tend to fall somewhere on a continuum—meaning no two introverts or extroverts are the same. While it is true that no two introverts are the same, there are some qualities that bind us all together, thus placing us in the category of introversion.
1.We are exhausted after a lot of social interaction.
This doesn't necessarily mean we don't like social interaction—honestly some of us love being around people—it just means social interaction is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. Many introverts have different thresholds as far as "too much" social interaction, some might be exhausted after a couple of hours, while others might last a couple of days. Either way, we all reach a point where we want to crawl into our cozy beds and be alone.
2. We love alone time.
I've met people who absolutely cannot spend time alone, and those people are certainly not introverts. Introverts tend to enjoy time alone, in fact they might even get excited when they have a day or a night all to themselves. It doesn't mean we ALWAYS have to be alone, it just means we definitely don't mind it.
3. We don't just love alone time, we need it.
Rory gets it. While alone time can be enjoyable, it's also necessary. Alone time allows and introvert to recharge and maintain a healthy state of mind. If you interact with an introvert after they've had way too much social interaction, you're not going to get much, so let us have our time.
4. Small talk isn't our thing
Small talk often seems meaningless and requires too much effort in the eyes of an introvert. We would rather save our social energy for a meaningful conversation, than waste it on small talk just to make someone feel less awkward.
5. We choose our close friends very carefully.
If you've made the cut, congrats! It certainly isn't easy to be called a "close friend" or even a "best friend" by an introvert. It might have something to do with the fact that we pick and choose where to direct our social energy in order to conserve it. If you're a good friend of an introvert, it means they deemed you worthy of spending their social energy, which means a lot.
Introverts aren't all shy hermits, just like extroverts aren't all loud, crazy people. We do, however have some commonalities, some of which I've outlined in these 5 statements. I hope most of the introverts of the world would agree.
