My pastor used a powerful metaphor in talking about Lessons We Can Learn From The Recession. Stay with me even if you don’t believe in God because you may find your own personal power about to be lifted.
When we feel positive and confident about our lives we’re like a beaker totally filled with clear fluid. When you look closer, there could be sediment at the beaker bottom; like a perceived weakness. Notice when the beaker is bumped that sediment combines with the clearer water and disappears. Why would an introvert want to become more like an extrovert when all the power is already within them?
Learning. Jonathan Rauch, author of the timeless Caring for Your Introvert, wrote, “I love long conversation and explore intimate thoughts and passionate interests.” Doesn’t going deep and wide on any subject fuel our social skill and need to learn? Take breaks from study certainly; breaks recharge us. A break also has the added benefit of developing other parts of you.
Peak productivity. Preferring to work by ourselves we benefit from staying focused, a key in peak performance. When it’s time to pull together with a team, we can do it. Yes we have to use those more extroverting social skill that we know, and that may tire us out. Stay focused: you can learn to balance the alone time with team time.
Creativity. Our approach is we focus longer and think well on our own, so we have the energy to put out creatively in anything we do. Remember those long term memories we have? And a preference for quiet time to concentrate? Bring those together for a “creative creativity” to any situation. You don’t have to be an introverted CEO to be creative. You can be a CIO – Creative Introvert Officer.
Introvert or extrovert, as individuals we are like the fluid and the sediment in the beaker. Why would you want to go from introvert to extrovert, or remove the sediment from the clear fluid? Some would argue, that can’t be done anyway. Introverts can learn any skills they need, focus on the task and then as a high school teacher once told me, “be quietly effective.”
Do you suppose it is a gift from God? Even if you don’t believe in God, do you suppose it’s a gift we introverts have?
Good food for thought. I am declaring myself a Creative Introvert Officer. 😉