Do extroverts really get the best of both worlds? (Pt 1/2)

Written by

Sophie Tan, Year 13

“How exactly was Apple founded? By a certain Steve Wozniak (however tempting it is to point the finger at the other famous Steve) in a cubicle. How did Dr. Seuss happen on some of his most famous characters? In the dark and silence of a little tower in his hometown of California. How did Darwin get into the mood to work? By taking solitary walks alone in the forest. All three point to the transcendent power of solitude and ultimately, of introverts.”

I was browsing through Yahoo during my mandatory chocolate break, when I came across an article headed ‘Are You Really an Introvert? Extrovert?’ (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/todd-kashdan/introvert_b_5889398.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592), which immediately made me cast my thoughts back to this article I wrote a few years back (either Year 10 or 11!) Hope the topic strikes you readers as much as it struck me!

Do extraverts really get the best of both worlds?

I distinctly recall an outing with a friend a few years back. It had been an exhausting day for the two of us and I proposed we head to Polo Club for a nice, refreshing drink to wash away our exhaustion and drown out the sheer heat of a blazing summer afternoon. However, we had to go our separate ways and I arrived before her. So I sat there, in no unpleasant state of mind, eagerly anticipating her arrival. When she finally did show up, I noticed she looked a bit worn-out. In coming to me, a man got up abruptly and stared at her. And he stared for a long time. Then he finally said, or rather blasted out, ‘Why are you looking so sad? You should smile more! C’mon give me a smile!’

True story. In an era where society seems to underline the importance of outgoing, explosive and dynamic personalities, the quieter, more reflective people are often made to feel inadequate and, well, somewhat of a misfit in their own skin. The key words we use to characterise these types of people are ‘introverts’ and ‘extroverts’, a term coined by the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. We all fall somewhere in the midst of the introvert-extrovert continuum, usually leaning either to the introvert or the extrovert extreme. Some, who fall smack in the middle, are called ambiverts.

What are introverts? You may very well ask. Introverts are people who are energised by internal stimulation. These are people who do not feel the need to constantly be out and about to feel at their most refreshed and alive. Extraverts, in the simplest sense of the word, are people who are stimulated by external activities and who constantly need the thrill and buzz of activity pulsating through their brains. It is very tempting at this point to assume that introversion and shyness are one and the same thing. Wrong. Shyness is being fearful or uncomfortable of being in the company of others. Some extraverted individuals can be shy too. Take the curious case of the shy extravert. It does seem like a rather odd combination when you first probe at it, but it does make sense and the unseemly combination does exist. Some extraverts are initially shy, in making friends. This doesn’t mean to say however that they prefer solitude to the company of others. If you, for instance, spot two people (say X and Z) sitting isolated from the rest of a spirited crowd of partygoers, X may withdraw because he feels uncomfortable in the company of others whilst Z may withdraw simply because he prefers to be left alone.

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