Simply Me: This is Boring

Okay, this is REALLY boring. My noble attempts to spend less time at the computer have driven me to taking goofy pictures of my alcoholic couch potato dog. Scoot over, Anne Geddes, here we come. (Is anyone else completely freaked out by that woman's pictures??) Good thing I no longer waste my creative energies and time WRITING. Now I spend my time doing productive things (as seen here) and watching hour upon hour of Gilmore girls & Northern Exposure. I miss my blog. My dog misses my blog too. He looks depressed. Maybe he should start a Dog Blog. Speaking of which, I tried joining a Pug Group on Yahoo, but after about three days of 389 posts about people's pugs, it got a little tedious. (mine is cuter) So then I got so bored & lonely I joined a Group of Loners....no joke. Loners who get together. As you can imagine, being a bunch of anti-social misanthropists, we tend to annoy one another & get on each other's nerves. You guys were way more fun. If I promise to let all of you make fun of me, can I come back and play? I will try not to wax philosophical or go to the Dark Side. I also promise to burn my copy of Fahrenheit 451 and not read anymore destructive literature that might lead to fanatical behavior such as abandoning my blog or moving to Alaska & eating poisonous berries. Zuni would like to say he REALLY hopes you will let me blog again or at least take my camera away & help me find another hobby. Soon.

The Atlantic Monthly | March 2003

DO YOU KNOW someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and maladroit at small talk? Who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recuperate? Who growls or scowls or grunts or winces when accosted with pleasantries by people who are just trying to be nice?

If so, do you tell this person he is "too serious," or ask if he is okay? Regard him as aloof, arrogant, rude? Redouble your efforts to draw him out?

If you answered yes to these questions, chances are that you have an introvert on your hands—and that you aren't caring for him properly. Science has learned a good deal in recent years about the habits and requirements of introverts. It has even learned, by means of brain scans, that introverts process information differently from other people (I am not making this up). If you are behind the curve on this important matter, be reassured that you are not alone. Introverts may be common, but they are also among the most misunderstood and aggrieved groups in America, possibly the world.

I know. My name is Jonathan, and I am an introvert.

Oh, for years I denied it. After all, I have good social skills. I am not morose or misanthropic. Usually. I am far from shy. I love long conversations that explore intimate thoughts or passionate interests. But at last I have self-identified and come out to my friends and colleagues. In doing so, I have found myself liberated from any number of damaging misconceptions and stereotypes. Now I am here to tell you what you need to know in order to respond sensitively and supportively to your own introverted family members, friends, and colleagues. Remember, someone you know, respect, and interact with every day is an introvert, and you are probably driving this person nuts. It pays to learn the warning signs.

What is introversion? In its modern sense, the concept goes back to the 1920s and the psychologist Carl Jung. Today it is a mainstay of personality tests, including the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not. Introverts are also not misanthropic, though some of us do go along with Sartre as far as to say "Hell is other people at breakfast." Rather, introverts are people who find other people tiring.

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."

How many people are introverts? I performed exhaustive research on this question, in the form of a quick Google search. The answer: About 25 percent. Or: Just under half. Or—my favorite—"a minority in the regular population but a majority in the gifted population."

Are introverts misunderstood? Wildly. That, it appears, is our lot in life. "It is very difficult for an extrovert to understand an introvert," write the education experts Jill D. Burruss and Lisa Kaenzig. (They are also the source of the quotation in the previous paragraph.) Extroverts are easy for introverts to understand, because extroverts spend so much of their time working out who they are in voluble, and frequently inescapable, interaction with other people. They are as inscrutable as puppy dogs. But the street does not run both ways. Extroverts have little or no grasp of introversion. They assume that company, especially their own, is always welcome. They cannot imagine why someone would need to be alone; indeed, they often take umbrage at the suggestion. As often as I have tried to explain the matter to extroverts, I have never sensed that any of them really understood. They listen for a moment and then go back to barking and yipping.

Are introverts oppressed? I would have to say so. For one thing, extroverts are overrepresented in politics, a profession in which only the garrulous are really comfortable. Look at George W. Bush. Look at Bill Clinton. They seem to come fully to life only around other people. To think of the few introverts who did rise to the top in politics—Calvin Coolidge, Richard Nixon—is merely to drive home the point. With the possible exception of Ronald Reagan, whose fabled aloofness and privateness were probably signs of a deep introverted streak (many actors, I've read, are introverts, and many introverts, when socializing, feel like actors), introverts are not considered "naturals" in politics.

Extroverts therefore dominate public life. This is a pity. If we introverts ran the world, it would no doubt be a calmer, saner, more peaceful sort of place. As Coolidge is supposed to have said, "Don't you know that four fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still?" (He is also supposed to have said, "If you don't say anything, you won't be called on to repeat it." The only thing a true introvert dislikes more than talking about himself is repeating himself.)

With their endless appetite for talk and attention, extroverts also dominate social life, so they tend to set expectations. In our extrovertist society, being outgoing is considered normal and therefore desirable, a mark of happiness, confidence, leadership. Extroverts are seen as bighearted, vibrant, warm, empathic. "People person" is a compliment. Introverts are described with words like "guarded," "loner," "reserved," "taciturn," "self-contained," "private"—narrow, ungenerous words, words that suggest emotional parsimony and smallness of personality. Female introverts, I suspect, must suffer especially. In certain circles, particularly in the Midwest, a man can still sometimes get away with being what they used to call a strong and silent type; introverted women, lacking that alternative, are even more likely than men to be perceived as timid, withdrawn, haughty.

Are introverts arrogant? Hardly. I suppose this common misconception has to do with our being more intelligent, more reflective, more independent, more level-headed, more refined, and more sensitive than extroverts. Also, it is probably due to our lack of small talk, a lack that extroverts often mistake for disdain. We tend to think before talking, whereas extroverts tend to think by talking, which is why their meetings never last less than six hours. "Introverts," writes a perceptive fellow named Thomas P. Crouser, in an online review of a recent book called Why Should Extroverts Make All the Money? (I'm not making that up, either), "are driven to distraction by the semi-internal dialogue extroverts tend to conduct. Introverts don't outwardly complain, instead roll their eyes and silently curse the darkness." Just so.

The worst of it is that extroverts have no idea of the torment they put us through. Sometimes, as we gasp for air amid the fog of their 98-percent-content-free talk, we wonder if extroverts even bother to listen to themselves. Still, we endure stoically, because the etiquette books—written, no doubt, by extroverts—regard declining to banter as rude and gaps in conversation as awkward. We can only dream that someday, when our condition is more widely understood, when perhaps an Introverts' Rights movement has blossomed and borne fruit, it will not be impolite to say "I'm an introvert. You are a wonderful person and I like you. But now please shush."

How can I let the introvert in my life know that I support him and respect his choice? First, recognize that it's not a choice. It's not a lifestyle. It's an orientation.

Second, when you see an introvert lost in thought, don't say "What's the matter?" or "Are you all right?"

Third, don't say anything else, either.

9 comments:

Shasta said...: hehe..I soo could have used this in my recent blog post. Anxiously Anticipating the Release! I would love to have you back. You write so well and it's a gift to share! My days will be brighter when you begin blogging again. Love ya!!! You're dogs are soo cute!! How'd you like the flower?; Monday, May 12, 2008
Aubergine said...: Yayness - I was missin' you. Stay away from Gilmore Girls though. There are whole days of my life that I wish had back.; Tuesday, May 13, 2008
justjuls said...: Did you get my comment?
I don't think I was patient enough for the message -
OF COURSE we want you back in blogland. Get back here!

Your dog is cute - but evidently terribly melancholy.; Tuesday, May 13, 2008
ZaleaRose said...: I've never left a comment here before, but I just had to let you know how glad I am that you are back! I have checked every day in hopes that you would change your mind. Welcome back!; Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Dwayne D said...: Ummm what's the word I'm looking for here? Ohhh YES!!!! that's it YES!!!!; Tuesday, May 13, 2008
jblieu said...: Your dog looks content. Don't even try to take that remote away... Welcome back.; Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: Ohhh, I've missed your blog so much! Glad you're back!!

XOXO,
T2; Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Kathie said...: I am so glad you are back! I love your blog you always manage to make me laugh, which there are days I need that! (that is a good thing); Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Mary said...: Wow, if it wasn;t for reading Julie's blog I would have never known you were back.....

Bet it feels good to be writing again.; Thursday, May 15, 2008

Simply Me

Monday, May 12, 2008

This is Boring

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Caring for Your Introvert