Hey Everyone,
I've been thinking a lot lately about introverts vs. extroverts and am wondering what all of your experiences have been.
I wrote in another post that I never really identified with either term until a few years ago, when I started to realize that I seemed to relate to the traits of introverts much more than extroverts. If anyone remembers the old Fantastic Four movies, there's a scene in which Susan Storm (played by Jessica Alba) is throwing all her strength into keeping up a force field, and it takes such a toll on her body that her nose starts to bleed profusely.
This is also how I feel when I'm pulled in too many directions, too often, and by too many people -- it starts to feel as if my soul is on the verge of a breaking into a massive hemorrhage.
I realize that many times in life, we have no choice (such as with work), but I'm also realizing that sometimes my lack of energy around socially demanding situations can keep me from obeying God's will for my life. I had a recent situation in which I was invited to a church event and declined, only to feel the next day that God was saying I should have put my own feelings aside and gone.
And so, I'm wondering how you all classify yourselves and how it affects your life.
* Are you an introvert or extrovert, and how did you realize it? What is your own personal definition of being an introvert or an extrovert?
* Did you grow up in a family of introverts or extroverts (were they the same as you, or the opposite of you), and did it help or hurt you?
* Do you feel uncomfortable around your opposites? (Are introverts uncomfortable around extroverts, and are extroverts uncomfortable around introverts?)
* How does being an introvert or extrovert affect your decisions when searching for a spouse, and would you want a spouse who was in the same category as you, or the opposite?
And, as a bonus question:
* Do you think being an introvert or extrovert changes over time? Sometimes back and forth?
This is something I'm pondering for my own self as well. I have often wondered if I started out as an extrovert but that some of life's challenges made it feel safer to retreat into a shell.
Thank you for sharing and I'll be very interested in reading your stories.