Is being introverted something to be ashamed of?
The answer is no.
It is something that gets repeated over and over through magazines, tv shows, movies, and the so-called social media “influencers”. They tell you that in order to be successful in life, you need to be a chatterbox, always surrounded by tons of friends. The massive media portrays more often than they should introverts as persons with high-sociopathic tendencies, sho0wing as if they are alone because they are unable to establish any kind of meaningful relationship with an average person. Are those assumptions a part of truth almost no one wants to see? Or are those assumptions only a big pack of lies?
The more you speak… The more you know?
Look at a lot of tv shows. The most popular and “cool “ characters are a lot of the time portrayed as being conventionally attractive and surrounded by a few, but quite loyal, friends. It doesn’t matter if in-story, they are shown off as being quite nerdy (by Hollywood standards, of course), they are always talkative. A lot of the other characters often look up to them, even if it is just to ask them for advice. This could lead to the misconception that the more a person speaks, the more he or she is wise. There’s no doubt that there are a lot of chatterboxes that actually could be quite wise, but this is not often the case. Haven’t you heard those old-time sayings about finding wisdom among quietness?
Interpersonal relationships matter (and so does respecting individuality)
Yes, it’s true. Knowing how to maintain a healthy relationship with our peers, is a desirable and very useful skill. After all, we are a part of a society, and no matter how hard we try, we cannot stay away from others for too long. But there’s a big difference between being able to have a normal and nicely-working relationship with our peers, and being a person who’s always fighting for the spotlight. Yes, let’s teach the kids how to socialize from an early age, but let’s also respect the little ones who are a little less talkative than the others. As human beings, we are very different from the other, thus, everyone has a different kind of needs. What for a person might seem a lot of talk, for another, might seem something nearly to silence. It goes according to our personality, environment, and education. Our needs are never going to be the same as those of the person standing next to us, so what’s left is respecting each other and learning to coexist despite our differences.
Shyness equals weakness?
Another myth perpetuated by the mass media is that all the introvert persons are nothing but weaklings, always afraid of speaking up their minds, while the extrovert ones are “the alpha wolves of the pack”
To demystify this, should we start remembering that there are different kinds of intelligence, and not every person develops the same ones at the same level as others do. So, there you can have a person who has a bit of trouble connecting to others, but it is a true genius when it comes to solving math problems. No matter if others have called you “dumb” for lacking some skills, think of your strengths and then you will see, that no person is 100% weak. Every one of us has strengths and weaknesses, and it´s up to us to make the most of them. And in the end, such things as strengths or weakness are relative, our perception of them depends on what are our lifetime goals and what we aspire to do with our lives.
Be proud of who you are, dear introvert
It doesn’t matter what you see on social media, or whatever your mates tell you, you don’t need to do something you don’t want to in order to fit in. If you feel as if you want to become more open and talkative, go ahead! Do it for yourself, to become the person you truly want to be. But if you want to keep enjoying your frequent moments of solitude and use them to reflect and try to find your inner peace, then, go ahead. We are what we are, and some of the few things that we take ourselves most of our lives, are those moments where we took pride in being ourselves. So, rejoice in your truth. Life is too short to waste it by trying to imitate others.
