Hello! I Am An Introvert

In life, often times, some actions or inaction are considered offensive by our friends or foes.

Especially, that awkward moment when your silence is translated to mean pride, arrogance or having ill-intention. Irrespective of how much effort you put into convincing people of your innate characteristic of 'keeping to self' at most, it is fundamental that you encounter, at first, stern disapproval of your explanation.

Africa is a continent with diverse cultural beliefs and practices. And having studied the Asian historic cultural development, I found some contrast in varying cultural practices.

A simple example, typical of an African child, will be to extend/ use the right hand when offering an elderly objects. While using the left hand will be offending or disrespectful it often attract some level of punishment. This is what we call 'Respect' in the Nigerian traditional settings. But in other parts of the world, the choice of which hand to use is optional and depends invariably on the available (free) hand.

I am an Introvert. Although, lately, I have to some extent learnt and functioned as an extrovert. But there's distinction between the two characteristics.

Introvert - A shy, reticent, and typically self-centered person. A person predominantly concerned with their own thoughts and feelings rather than with external things.

Extrovert - An outgoing, overtly expressive person.

This characteristics are fundamental. It's irrespective of tribe, race, religion nor nationality.

In modern behavioral terms, “introvert” is used to describe individuals who are most comfortable in the inner life of the mind, come across as more reserved, and are less likely to seek numerous or large interactions.

They represent approximately half of the population. In the workplace their presence is less obvious and misunderstood, though their ability to actively listen at a very deep level makes them major idea contributors. There’s risk in confusing their self-containment with a lack of ambition.

On the contrary, extroverts aren't just people who are talkative and engaging - these personality types get their energy from external sources, often from other people.

Extroverts will speak in order to, kind of, develop their thinking.

On various occasions, while trying effortlessly to justify my actions or inactions, I often complicate situations when seeking traditional or religious grounds for clarification.

It's usually a tug of war trying to convince an extrovert superior of your innate characteristic.

We introverts have a lot going on in these brains of ours! And if you’re like me, who occasionally do things without carrying others along, with precision, clearly mapping out loop holes, advantages and disadvantages of your next step without even jotting it down, I do that a lot.

Well, I won't leave the discussion without providing you few tips I found online on how you can deal/ relate with an extrovert boss or coworker.

1: If you are an introvert and you have an extroverted boss, be sure to provide updates to him, even when he doesn’t ask for them. Don’t wait until he has to ask; initiate!

2: If you recognize that your boss or other coworkers are extroverts, be aware of their different style and don’t take offense or feel that it’s a war between introverts and extroverts.

::: Being an introvert is very cool, in my opinion, and I relish my alone time. I feel sorry for people who are bored and lonely if they are faced with a weekend afternoon or evening alone. But if your boss or other influential coworker or customer is an extrovert, it pays to learn to relate to them a bit. Chances are, they will really appreciate your unique insight into the task at hand.

“Everybody is a Genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, It will spend its whole life thinking it’s stupid.”  ~ Albert Einstein