Learning to Step Into My Introverted Superpowers

Posted On October 31, 2022

As a little girl, I was very personable and always talked to new people (according to my mother). As an adult, I’m VERY confused on how that could be because talking to random new people is exhausting now as an adult hahahaha. Maybe growing up and realizing that I don’t need to talk to everyone. Hmph, who knows? 

As I’ve grown up I’ve always had a love of people, but every time I would be socializing with some of my favorite people, I noticed that I would be SO tired afterward and wouldn’t go out or hang out for days, and sometimes even weeks to months. I began to notice different things about myself from my peers, like spending copious amounts of time alone, preferring quiet rooms, low-sound environments, and a slower pace of life. I wasn’t (and still am not) a fan of going out into large crowds or getting all dolled up to go out to party. 

So, I began to look up ways to better understand myself (along with therapy with a professional along the way). I looked up articles and began to recognize that I’m an introvert with some extroversion tendencies when it comes to work functions (and other events that require me to be “on”….thank you Theatre background 🙂 )

Better Understanding of Myself

Learning about the personality test, I began to learn and reflect on myself and my life, and it all began to make sense. I learned that I am specifically an INFJ and I felt so seen and offended that the description was so accurate. One thing about being an INFJ, I feel so deeply and am very much a maze of thoughts and ideas in my head. All are very accurate for me. 

What I found interesting about learning all of this is how unsure I felt in life. I felt like there wasn’t a place where I fit. I felt too different but learning that I’m an INFJ (and there’s actually a larger population size than I thought), I felt I finally have been found. 

There have been more times than I like to admit when I felt I didn’t fit into INFJ because I am a walking contradiction. Then, I found out that INFJs are walking contradictions!! How many times am I going to fit into INFJ before I fully believe it? Lol (Don’t worry I fully believe it <3)

What Have I Learned?

Bottom line? My introversion is a superpower. I am able to be as engaging as possible (especially with my students). When I meet new people, I have the power to make them feel at ease. I can easily help a fellow introvert escape if need be. I can get my people cup filled and easily leave a party after an hour. 

I also learned that my people love me just the way that I am. Sometimes, I think we introverts have a hard time finding our people and/or feeling like people love us just the way that we are. But we ARE so loved. Many extroverts may not fully understand us, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t loved. I’ve learned to extend grace to extroverts because our introversion isn’t how they operate; they’re swimming in a current we don’t fully understand either. It’s not wrong or bad, just different. Honestly, different is good and very beautiful. 

My advice? Take your time to get to know yourself. You’re going to grow in so many ways. Let an extrovert befriend you and learn from them. They’re pretty great too….do so in doses; it can be a lot :D. Lean into who you are. You’re so needed and loved in this very loud world. I hope you step into your superpower.