Growing as an introvert!

I originally posted these thoughts as a tweet thread here.

Learning about your introversion can be such a powerful thing — starting with accepting it and then constantly working towards your needs as an introvert. Over the last few months, I spoke to fellow introverts and extensively read about introversion. This isn’t to say I am becoming an extrovert! But I am learning to handle social situations better as an introvert. Here are some things that have helped me and wish I knew earlier.

For a long time, I struggled to speak up in groups. I hardly had anything to say, even though I ended up having some of the best one-on-one conversations with the same people. I was always labeled as "too sensitive", "too shy" or "too quiet". At times I felt like I won’t fit in, and people will not understand where I come from. Social gatherings ALWAYS drained me out.

Now that I know myself, I am confident about my introverted temper. I now understand that this is my approach to the world — I enjoy my time alone, I take time to reflect, I am bad with small talk, I need time before forming my opinion about things, and there is always going to be an inner voice that I need to listen to. And there’s not much I can change about these things!

But instead of fighting it, I can learn to live with it and find my way around the world with all of these things. I feel now that I am more authentic with my words and recognize patterns better to work on my own growth. I have learned that my social life can be different than my friends. I don’t have to go to parties and get-togethers if I don’t want to, I can hang out in close groups, go to the mountains. I only had to communicate. I have learned to be more vocal about my need for alone time. This has been SO helpful in my relationship with both – friends and family. And I am super grateful to feel understood and supported!

After an Introvert Hangover or long hours of being social, I NEED to take time for myself to get back up. This is the only way to get all the lost energy back into the system. And recognizing this has helped me find a balance. Professionally, I am much better at reaching out to people one-on-one and learning about their work, and this is the only way how I know to build a network. I can’t go to events.

I like being in the background, I don’t feel the need to take the limelight. This means I need to know my work well and continue setting higher standards for myself. For meetings and large group discussions, going prepared and doing some pre-work has also helped me be more confident. There is no hack around this. Remote work has been such a blessing! ♥️ I have been able to save my energy and focus on work that truly matters to me. And find time for things that I care about.

I truly believe knowing yourself can be a superpower. I still need to do a lot of work and I still sometimes struggle to put myself out there. But I have understood that my introversion isn’t a flaw or shortcoming I need to work on, it’s who I am. And if you’re a fellow introvert reading this, I hope you do too. :)