Are you an Introvert or Extrovert?
Hi, Mike here.
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but I was inspired by Crystals blog posts.
So here we go.
Am I an introvert or an extrovert?
True to form, there’s no easy answer here; just a series of complex dualities. I would say I am very much an introvert; who can play an extrovert on TV.
In other words, I like to read and watch boring documentaries (poor Crystal) and listen to smart podcasts (like Startalk or Olguinscene). I’ve spent a good deal of time relearning to draw, use Illustrator and run a website. I think deep thoughts and have strong opinions on tons of stuff. From politics to Parks and Rec, Science to Simpsons, Congress to Comedy, the arts to the farts, and so forth. Needless to say, my interests are really random. I love history, mysteries, legends, and fun conspiracies and super cheesy movies to boot. I am fully aware most humans perceive these things as odd and dorky, and I’m a little shy about it. So, all of this would represent the shy, introvert side of me.
On the contrary, I can speak to a large crowd, crack jokes, meet whomever, tell a great story and be the life of the party in general. I’ve sung the karaokes, played guitar on stage, worn some crazy getups, given business presentations for big companies and international audiences, and met all kinds of interesting people.
Being this open It’s not my default setting, but it’s kind of exciting. For a long time, I put great importance on the extroverted side and fueled it with booze. I cut that out, but I can still do the social thing pretty well.
Turns out that doing creative interesting things the introverted side likes to do gives the extroverted side plenty to talk about in social situations. Thus saving the conversation from talking about the party itself or previous parties as was my custom previously.
For one reason or another I feel like the shy side is the dominant one these days so I sometimes feel tired out after social time. That’s not the way it used to be, but that’s ok because that helps keep things balanced. (Right?)
Balance is key to everything, so finding the right proportion of social time to self-improvement time is key.
A key that I’m pretty sure is in a pants pocket; but I’m now I’m not sure.
That is to say; I’m realizing now that I could use more balance regarding socializing. I have been focusing on self-improvement but not so much in communication, so I’ll have to work on that.
That’s not always easy as self-awareness let in a bit shyness and a dash of self-doubt. A lot of our friends are partied out, moved away or have families and stuff.
It’s up to us to reach out make friends and try and be relatable and seem human. That’s a tall order being older and still trying to find our niche.
But I’m not going to worry too much. I’ll have a lot of fun stories when I’m ready to tell them. Until then, we have this great site to think out loud and write and draw and speak about the stuff we love! Thanks for reading!
-Mike Olguin.
