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The world will always revolve around people. All your thoughts, ideas, hobbies, etc. are the product of the mind of a person or minds of a group of people. There is nothing more interesting than people, for it is people who make the world go round. Societies and civilization only exist because people decided to stop hunting solo and realized the advantages that come with working together.
So for all you introverts who are getting a hard time for "going to work just to do your job", realize that you only have a job because you are part of a functioning society where each component works together to keep the massive whole flowing. Your job was brought to you by people who worked together and realized they needed your services to continue to expand and connect with the world.
Yes, there are annoying people in offices, those who are overchatty, etc., but in my opinion nothing is worse than the antisocial worker who sits like a robot at his cubicle and wonders why his coworkers are a little put off. Humans thrive on meaningful social connections, and we each feel comfortable knowing that we can walk into a social environment and at least trust that everyone is on friendly enough terms to both let us do our work and offer some light banter/humor to lift our spirits.
So please, get over yourselves. Being an introvert does not mean you have to be anti-social. I find that introverts tend to have more meaningful conversations, or are capable of being the most amusing pranksters in an office environment. You are only limiting yourselves by choosing to remain in your self made box (or cubicle, in this instance). Think outside of it, and expand.
This message brought to you by an INTJ.
I completely agree with you! My main purpose for going to work is to do the job for which I'm paid, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the interaction that takes place. That may be why people don't see me as introverted. They have confused introverted with anti-social.
I need to catch up with this thread, I enjoyed reading it and responding.
I want to say that today I came back to work after a 3 days off with a cold that made me worthless, but I'm recovered and went into work today and I was happy to be back. My attitude towards people today was a lot more positive and I wasn't like my normal introverted self. I found that people reacted a lot more positively around me and didn't just keep going past me without saying nothing. It was a very weird feeling putting myself "out there" instead of normally just being quiet and going off to do my own thing. Once in a great while I'll do that, but it's so rare I forget what it's like. Who knows if I'll ever break out of my shell, but I hope I can break some bad habits that came with being introvert.
well what about introverts who have been taken advantage of by opportunistic extroverts at work? don't introverts have the right to protect themselves? ive encoun tered this crap countless times where opportunistic extroverts use social interactions to either get what they want out of the introvert (namely me) or even be downright cruel. how can you say a grown adult introvert doesn't have the right to size up another person and act accordingly? it's our rights as adults to do so
Interesting thread! I've always considered myself an introvert, however, when I've stated that, I get incredulous looks from whatever person to whom I've said this.
I have a preference to doing things alone, i.e. shopping, going to the movies, cycling, etc., but do enjoy crowds and parties. I don't initiate conversations with stranger, but will happily engage if someone else initiates. Therefore, my question is does my being considered an introvert or extrovert dependent upon only what I consider myself to be or how others do?
I read a definition once that connected Introversion or Extroversion to what "gave you energy." Some people thrive on parties, crowds and excitement, while that same environment absolutely drains other people. Extroverts thrive in these situations, while they wear out the introvert.
I'm an introvert, too, and get the same looks from people when I say it. One on one, or in small familiar groups I'm very friendly and outgoing. Put me in a large group, or even a small group of unfamiliar people, and I'd rather grab a book and sit in a corner and read. Introvert doesn't mean unfriendly, shy, or even quiet, it's simply a preference for how we like to spend our time.
I don't have autism or any social disorder, but I'm a BIG introvert. I never had many friends...just 1 or 2 at different times of my life. I don't want attention drawn to myself whatsoever. Let's say I happen to be in a room of people & I have to go to the restroom, I won't just walk through the middle of the whole room, I'll try my best to walk around, close to the back wall & draw the least amount of attention to myself.
I was also getting annoyed with the seemingly common opinion from people that you have to drink to have a good time. I don't drink...never have, never will. If they all need some liquid to make them more fun & they can't be charming/funny on their own, that's not a good thing. I have a great personality, if anyone got to know me, but I never have a chance to meet people at a deep level, just in passing all the time.
I think the thing with me is the fact that when it comes down to it I can socialize with people. However, I don't like people, I find them fairly annoying (hence I get annoyed or easily angered when I'm around people). I can have a good time and joke around a lot, but at the end of the day, I prefer to keep people at a distance
For as long as I can remember, I have always been an introverted kind of person. I don't hate people, I can converse but I tend to make connections with small groups of people ( think 2 or 3 people out of a class out of 25). For the past 11 years of my life, I've been teased or targeted because I'm never "out-going", I can do group assignments (even though I hate them) but I need my time alone to recharge and I don't see myself fitting in anywhere. I have autism as well ( something I've learned to control, most people who talk to me don't even see it nowadays). But I'm having a hard time coping with the outside world, I barely made it out of High School, and I'm in my last semesters of college and I feel like every time someone gets at me I'm getting closer and closer to the breaking point.
And I'm scared, because I've never seen myself as a violent or sadistic person, I could never see myself hurting another person because it's not in me. Whenever I talk to people, they say I'm caring, and I always take the time to listen to others who have problems or issues and help them get through it. It scares me because of the current problems I see with people attacking and hurting others, I don't want that to be me, I don't want to hurt other people because even though I'm cynical of the human race, no one deserves to have their life taken away. I'm sorry if this seems like a rant or I'm trying to get attention, I'm trying to figure out how to survive as an introvert in this world and make a living for myself without being a hindrance to society. Anything would be helpful, thanks guys.
American society tends to value extroversion more overall which is why a lot of people sometimes do this kind of crap. It's not your fault, just remember that introverted people are percieved as being odd in American culture. Also, some people have some macho attitude for whatever reason; I'm thinking that some people have to prove their 'masculinity' or something and they see introversion as something they might try to single out for aggression.
The world will always revolve around people. All your thoughts, ideas, hobbies, etc. are the product of the mind of a person or minds of a group of people. There is nothing more interesting than people, for it is people who make the world go round. Societies and civilization only exist because people decided to stop hunting solo and realized the advantages that come with working together.
So for all you introverts who are getting a hard time for "going to work just to do your job", realize that you only have a job because you are part of a functioning society where each component works together to keep the massive whole flowing. Your job was brought to you by people who worked together and realized they needed your services to continue to expand and connect with the world.
Yes, there are annoying people in offices, those who are overchatty, etc., but in my opinion nothing is worse than the antisocial worker who sits like a robot at his cubicle and wonders why his coworkers are a little put off. Humans thrive on meaningful social connections, and we each feel comfortable knowing that we can walk into a social environment and at least trust that everyone is on friendly enough terms to both let us do our work and offer some light banter/humor to lift our spirits.
So please, get over yourselves. Being an introvert does not mean you have to be anti-social. I find that introverts tend to have more meaningful conversations, or are capable of being the most amusing pranksters in an office environment. You are only limiting yourselves by choosing to remain in your self made box (or cubicle, in this instance). Think outside of it, and expand.
This message brought to you by an INTJ.
lol... so if one person doesn't want to talk to you, this offends you? do you expect all to like or warm to you?
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