I don’t try and hide my introversion tendencies. These days.
I used to. I was told at school, time and time again, that to be quiet or thoughtful or happy in my own company or distant or some other introversion trait was not good and would hold me back. I spent a great deal of effort and energy being ‘not me’, spending time with others when I needed to desperately to recharge. And it got really tiring, really quickly, meaning I needed even more ‘me’ time to recover my composure and energy before going back out and into the world again.
Fast forward many, many years and I now see myself for who I am – I’m an introvert. I am no longer ashamed of it. In avoiding this, knowingly or deliberately, all these years I’ve done myself a huge disservice. As did the person and people who previously insisted this was wrong. I continued for years feeling like an outsider in social or family or work situations, never understanding why.
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