Who is an introvert, and what are his strengths

Being an introvert is excellent! But not all introverts use their strengths or are not even aware of them. From this article, you will learn your advantages over other people!

You will understand:

Are you an introvert?
Strengths of introverts and how to use them.
Weaknesses of introverts and how to get rid of weaknesses.
How to build a personal brand on your expertise and not copy life strategies that do not lead to success.

Introverts — who are they?

Who are introverts, and how are they different from extroverts?

Carl Jung described the differences between introverts and extroverted personalities. Subsequently, the introversion-extroversion scale began to be used in most personality tests. For example, include the Myers-Briggs personality type test, the Big 5 Big Five, and other tests. Perhaps you have taken a personality test to understand whether you are an introvert or extrovert.

You need to take a test and try the descriptions of an introvert and an extrovert. So you will understand yourself better. Look further for critical characteristics of introverts. Read How to meet at parties if you are an introvert.

Differences in the brains of introverts and extroverts

In experiments with people of different personality types, it was found that in response to stimulating activity from the outside, in extroverts and introverts, various neurotransmitters (substances responsible for signal transmission to cells) are turned on. And different pathways in the brain are activated.

The pathways of extroverts are activated by dopamine (the pleasure hormone that influences our motivation) and are short. It is a fast process.

The pathways of introverts are activated by acetylcholine (one of the primary mediators of the parasympathetic system that regulates many processes in the internal organs) and are long. It happens much more slowly than extroverts.

Therefore:

For health, extroverts need to activate the nervous system and receive new portions of dopamine.
Introverts do not need to activate the nervous system and receive dopamine for health. Their sensitivity to dopamine is too high. A new energy-consuming activity causes the process of inhibition and the reaction “enough” in introverts.

Having learned your nervous system's features, do not blame yourself. Rely on the following qualities of introverts.

You are focused on your inner mental activity. Most of the time, you don't feel like talking, and that's okay after communication. Some introverts spend 1-2 days alone to recover from a social event. To work efficiently, you need silence and solitude. You are a loner, not a team player. You value deep one-on-one conversations and don't know how to make small talk. But this can be learned. You have a few close friends, not 10-15. You are considered withdrawn and inaccessible. Do not lose contact with others. Restore energy in the ways from the article 25 sources of energy for introverts and return to people cheerful and rested.

And if you want to know which famous person is an introvert, just like you. Here is a far from the complete list:

Mahatma Gandhi
George Washington
Steve Jobs
Agatha Christie
Joanne Rowling
Irina Khakamada
Carl Jung
Mozart
Michael Jackson

Introvert Mistakes

Sometimes, introverts bury their talents in the ground and do not allow themselves to live freely and without the fear of being themselves. Here are the most harmful things introverts tend to do with their own lives. For success, you must review your habits and eliminate what harms you.

They go into loneliness and depression. Find someone you can talk to about your suffering if you feel emotionally hurt (read Seven habits of emotionally healthy people). Many introverts like to reflect. Write a diary, see a therapist weekly, and meet close friends for heart-to-heart talks. It will give you an outlet for your emotional experiences.
Be strict with yourself. Know that you're all right. Say it to yourself often to drown out your inner critic.
To be afraid to live. You have every right to be afraid of something in your life. Afraid to speak in public, afraid to fail a significant project, afraid to ask for a high salary, afraid to approach an exciting person and start a conversation, afraid to go on a date, like, and be successful. But do not say that all your troubles are from the fact that you are an introvert. It is not why you have these fears and learn to overcome them.

Strengths of introverts

Being an introvert means having a critical superpower to know how to use. Make sure you use your strengths or start doing it by following the recommendations in the article.

Ability to listen and understand people

(an article about how an extrovert and an introvert understand each other)

The ability to hear and understand people is an advantage for introverts, so they use this advantage in relationships.

You capture details. People appreciate attentiveness.
By listening and asking questions, you will learn much more about a person because people like to talk about themselves.
By knowing the psychology of other people, you can understand their motivation and know what to expect and how they will behave in a given situation (read five ways to stay motivated when you feel like quitting everything). It is your advantage over those who lack perseverance.
You create deep and lasting relationships and are attentive to people, which enriches your life and creates a solid foundation of relationships.

When you communicate, concentrate on the moment of what is happening. Do not look at the phone at this time, do not let your thoughts wander, look, feel, and listen.

Written communication

Introverts are much better than extroverts at putting their thoughts on paper. Take advantage of this.

How many people can you reach by speaking in public? And how many people will learn about you by reading your text?

Write if you want to build your brand because the best way for an introvert to build a personal brand is to create quality content and post it on relevant sites.

Publish articles on Medium, maintain a blog or website, answer questions on forums of interest, and write detailed comments under interesting posts or on sites of famous people.

To get started, write about being an introvert, how you came to this understanding, and what it means to be an introvert. Post it on social media and see what kind of reaction it will cause in others.

The more you write, the better your written communication skills will get.

Think — do — think

Extroverts tend to formulate their thoughts without thinking, introverts — on the contrary. Introverts are less likely to make mistakes because they carefully analyze and weigh the situation.

The problem with introverts is different if the period of reflection is not followed by continuation. People expect you to talk about what's on your mind. That's why:

When you have something to say, speak up. A second of awkwardness to draw attention to yourself. But it will become easier for you if you do not keep thoughts to yourself but speak out loud.
Other people will pay more attention to your words, knowing that you do not speak often and are usually always on business.
To make the conversation coherent, join the thought of the last speaker. Express your point of view — it can be different from everyone else's opinion, and this will create additional value.
Since you are an introvert, your reasoning is not superficial. You draw relationships with other processes or decisions. It makes thoughts interesting, and people appreciate your opinion.
People are more comfortable trusting confidential or intimate information to introverts. It makes you a trusted person. Appreciate it, and do not abuse the trust!

Intense inner life

There are a lot of ideas and thoughts in your head. The most important thing is the ability to dispose of them, not to lose them, and to realize the most successful ones.

You may think that many of your ideas are unworthy of attention or do not make sense. But it's not.

Find a time and a way to capture your ideas. You can use the idea of Leonardo Da Vinci's notebook, which had many interests and recorded all his ideas in different areas of writing. To do this, get a sizeable A4 notebook, structure it into sections with titles and write your ideas and thoughts in the appropriate section. Soon you will see how much you have.
Don't keep ideas to yourself. It is essential not only to give birth to thoughts and ideas but also to pronounce them. Share your ideas and suggestions with your manager (you can face-to-face or by e-mail), with your loved ones over a cup of tea, with friends and acquaintances in the format of a post on a social network, or at a meeting.
Know how to highlight the main thing and prioritize. A bunch of ideas doesn't mean anything yet. It is crucial to choose from all this what has value, draw up an implementation plan and bring the chosen idea to life on your own and with the help of other people. Fantasies without work are meaningless and destructive.

Ability to process large amounts of information

Introverts concentrate well in silence and can work on a specific task for a long time. Use it at work.

Develop and learn new things in the field of your interests and profession. Try to make everyone see you as an expert.
Pay attention to details. Other people may not see what is truly valuable.
Learn systems and technologies that help you process information, such as data storage and note-taking systems, structuring thoughts and ideas into a visual system.

Path of the Expert

Introverts don't scatter effort. They choose one key area, go deeper and achieve outstanding results. It is the path of the expert.

Deepen your expertise; after that, recognition, status, and a decent financial position will come.

Weaknesses of introverts and how to overcome them

You have already learned how many advantages an introvert has and how to use them to succeed. But introverts also have weaknesses you need to minimize, eliminate, or turn into strengths.

What are the most common weaknesses introverts struggle with? And how are they guaranteed to be overcome?

Make new social connections.

Introverts are conservative in relationships and new acquaintances. They prefer old acquaintances to any new acquaintance.

If you want to find a new job or move up the career ladder, meet a life partner, make life rich and fascinating, and meet new people from time to time.

Let other people seek to know you better.

It’s convenient for introverts if you don’t have to win attention. Get to know each other first and choose words. Easier when other people do it for you. How can this be achieved?

Imagine that you are giving a talk at a work conference. You know your topic well, prepared well in advance, answered various questions from the audience, thought out your appearance, and took business cards with you. After the report, people themselves want to know you more — they come up and take your contacts to make an appointment and ask questions you know how to answer. It is worth speaking well and for one or two hundred people learn about you in an hour, more or less. Therefore, public speaking skill for introverts is essential, not only at work.

Present yourself

Most often, introverts get lost when they need to quickly and skillfully talk about themselves and their merits, make a presentation, and sell themselves.

In the 21st century, to be successful, you need to play by the rules of society, job and business. It is essential to know that if you do something better than others, no one will know about it if you do not learn how to present yourself.

Tips for presenting yourself:

Master the 60-second presentation. It is when in 1 minute, you need to tell a new person what you can do best and who you are. Set a timer and practice at home in front of the mirror! After ten attempts, you will learn.
Let people read you. Introverts have strong writing skills. Write a sales resume (on LinkedIn or a job search site), write 3-4 quality articles on a topic where you are an expert, start a blog or write your thoughts on a social network (read Networking with empathy: what is it, how, and why to build it).
Work where you do not have to strain and break yourself. Find your personality type with our free test, and the algorithm will select professions where people of your personality type are happy.
Find someone who will do the work for you. You don't have to do everything yourself. Talented stars have an impresario — those who represent their interests in society. If possible, find someone who organizes advertising and presentations for you and works in tandem!

Teamwork

Introverts like to work alone and are good at it. But most businesses are built, so we cannot be isolated from the rest. Great things are not done alone. In the 21st century, the skill of interaction is considered one of the critical competencies necessary for success.

Real teamwork is when a group of professionals solve excellent problems together and achieve outstanding results. Introverts are usually great experts in their field. Here are some things you can do to improve communication with other team members:

At meetings and meetings, voice your ideas. Usually, you are already well prepared, ready for the meeting in advance, and have taken the time to think about the issue. Don't be a passive spectator. Play an active role, and you will be noticed!
Learn to communicate your thoughts to other people.

Find out right now if you are an introvert or an extrovert! As a bonus, artificial intelligence will name your most suitable professions. The accuracy of the test Menteora is 70-80% because we use a mathematical-statistical algorithm (read about Menteora's unique career guidance methodology).