In undergrad, I didn’t want to spend any time alone. Because my writing instructor insisted that we take time just to be, I would force myself to lie on my bed in ten-minute increments, doing nothing. Just lying there, resting, being alone. I’d feel so rushed and eager to do-do-do and be back with people that I’d check the clock and be shocked that it had only been three minutes and I had seven to go.
I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and I tested as an ENFJ … and 100% extrovert.
As my writing life grew deeper, and as I grew older, I watched this do a complete flip.
These days, I am a solid introvert: I value my alone time, I feel drained after spending a lot of time with company, I absolutely have to build in time for rest, recharging, and solitude.
And yet, I’m still quite outgoing. I’m not shy. I am a good public speaker. My job is all about hospitality. I think it shocks a lot of people when they first learn that I’m an introvert, probably because they have misconceptions about what “introvert” and “extrovert” really mean.
Even now, if I take the Myers-Briggs, it still tells me I’m an ENFJ. The test just can’t interpret my outgoing answers in way for it to regard me as an introvert. But trust me, I am. No close friend of mine would argue with that.
How about you? Do you get your energy from being with people or from being alone? Do you fit into the stereotype– a quiet, shy introvert or a loud, outgoing extrovert– or are you like me, a mix that defies the expectations?
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