A majority of us do think being introverted or extroverted is as simple as falling into two distinct types—you know, locked in a box. But that isn’t so.

Now, I’d like you to ask yourself this, would you rather stay home on a Friday night in your pajamas or go out to bars with a large group of friends? Would you rather like to be the center of attention by all or love keeping things low-key?

If you chose one of them and got an answer for yourself, don’t think yourself freaking weird. According to psychologists and psychoanalysts, there are no pure kinds of personality types in psychology.

When it comes to Introversion and Extroversion, they’re said to be a continuous dimension, like height and weight. This means they’re people who score at extremes, for example, the heavy people or introverts, or some pretty tall people score very high having the extroversion trait. But for most people, they do fall right in the middle of the both, which we do term as Ambivert; but that will be explained shortly.

What is an Introvert?

Being an introvert means that you love staying with yourself as a company, your thoughts, and your ideas.

Here are some common traits which make you introverted;

Read also, Ten Different Types of Writers— Where Do You Fall Into?

• It would help if you had time by yourself to energize
• Enjoy spending some time in the silence
• Prefers working in a quiet place
• Value close-one-on-one relationships
• Think deeply before saying anything.
• Hate attention
• And pretty reserved when it comes to almost everything
• You admit the personal lives of others and are a good listener
• You tend to observe people’s behavior more often than you care to interact with them.
• Interacting with people does drain your energy.
• You like to start your day with solitary or straightforward tasks, like reading messages from clients, emails, and the likes, or making updates to your calendar.

What is an Extrovert?

Now, if you know someone who loves spending time with others or meeting new people and growing more in settings where they’ve got to collaborate, then this is what we call an extrovert.

Read also, 10 Writing Habits You Should Avoid As An Author

When it comes to extroverts, they tend to seek the company of other people, they love going out and making networks, and they do thrive more in a team. Extroverts stuck at home aren’t healthy for them, for they may seem like they’re under house arrest. They need to get things moving excitingly to make their day count indeed.

Here are some common traits of extroverts;

• Love getting inspired by others and your external environment
• You look forward to having quality time with people in your network, to feel recharged and energized all the time.
• They tend to reason things out by saying them out.
• Spends a whole lot of their time with family and friends.
• Tend to be outward focused
• Tend to get distracted easily
• To sum it all up, they’re gregarious

Can you both be introverted and extroverted at the same time?

Well, when you ask me, I’m not a fan of strict groupies. And you don’t have to identify as only an introvert or an extrovert—there’s a spectrum.

Recently, people are beginning to identify themselves as both introverts and extroverts. I believe it’s nice to be somewhere in the middle and not having the feeling that you fall in one distinct group; that’s absurd.

For instance, if you’re an introvert-extrovert, you may feel you’re mostly extroverted in characteristics. Still, you love being alone with a small group of friends, and you feel drained any time you’re in a larger group of friends.

Most times, people call this Ambivert.

What is an Ambivert?

An Ambivert is simply someone who is said to exhibit both qualities of introverts and extroverts and can easily slip into varying moods, all depending on the goal and context.

Is it Possible to Change from one personality type to another?

I want to rephrase that question to ‘is it possible to ‘why the heck do you want to do it in the first place?’

Perhaps, a much better focus would be for you to remain who you are. At the same time, you develop skills that benefit your personality traits and your quality of life.

Read also, Writer’s Life: 15 Writer’s Challenges and How to Overcome Them

That said, scientists have approved that the brains of introverted people function pretty differently from those of extroverted people, all based on their chemical level.

NOW, here’s what they are trying to pinpoint here, an introvert strives more in solitude. In contrast, an extrovert aims more in an adrenaline-filled atmosphere. All of these come down to things like the chemical dopamine and the fight-to-flight characteristics, which are known for people at a survival level.

So, why you may tend toward one or the other, you pretty much use or act in both of them.

 Can knowing your personality type help your life?

When it comes to people in the world, they’re different. So, understanding the differences between introverts and extrovert tendencies can be a helpful tool for understanding yourself and the people around you.

I do believe that the more information we know when it comes to us, that is, what makes us act the way we do, and how we tend to take care of ourselves is always going to improve the quality of our life, and yes, our overall joy in it too.

We need to have more self-awareness. This helps when things tend to feel awry and aren’t going that well in our lives. IN ESSENCE, knowing our behavioral patterns can surely help us find some balance when we think lone on the inside. The same also goes for when conflicts do come up in relationships.

For instance, if you know that your friend is more introverted, you may not be shocked when they turn down your offer to go to a large crowd or a big event for the weekend. Instead, they opt for the usual stay-at-home for a movie, pep drink, and popcorn.

So, simply having this knowledge does help you avoid taking such rejection personally since you merely know it isn’t about you but more about what they feel comfortable with.

Introvert vs Extrovert

Read also, Writing Coach Explained – Why You Should Hire One

Introvert vs Extrovert – Which Personality Type tends to be Happier?

When it comes to extroverts, they tend to have more happiness than introverts. Still, most experts in psychology aren’t sure if this is because the joy is actually on the low side or whether introverts are somewhat less assertive when it comes to their feelings.

When it comes to happiness, it has been found to work notably differently on introverts and extroverts, so when you focus on only the mechanics of making an extrovert cheer up, that may not work on an introvert quite well.

Conclusion

What are you, an introvert or an extrovert?

When it comes to this sort of question, few people do not strictly claim one or the other. Most people tend to fall between the two regarding personality characteristics or traits—which is called Ambivert, as explained in the preceding.

And some psychologists do posit recently that there are various kinds of introverts, which are the social introversion, which is said to keep some introverts home. At the same time, thinking introverts are referred to as persons who are pensive and self-reflective too. And not all introverts are the same.

And for relationships, when it comes to two extroverts, they may tend to compete for attention. Still, they will at least share some mutual enjoyment when it comes to entertainment and socializing. On the other hand, it would be challenging for two introverts in a relationship to even step out of their comfort zone and try out newer things in some social settings.

And when it comes to putting together an introvert and extrovert together in a relationship, they tend to learn basic stuff from each other. Nonetheless, the disadvantage is they may not understand the other’s need for some privacy or when it comes to social interactions, and this difference is what the both of them have to learn to understand each other the better.

IN ESSENCE, whatever your personality type or the people around you, I hope you’ve learned a bit more about the traits of others around you. Sometimes, the way people act towards you or react towards you isn’t what it seems like. And it would help if you respected that when you meet people for the first time and don’t seek to make immediate judgments on people’s behavior.

People are who they seem to be; this talks more about their personality traits.

Follow us on Twitter