Guest Blogger: Tamisha Ford | tamishaford.com + the introvert effect
We live in a hyper-connected world. Everyone is either plugged in, plugged up, or charged up. We’re scrolling, typing, Facebook-ing, You-Tubing, Pinterest-ing, tweeting, and posting. There’s nothing wrong with this hyper-connectivity, but to a more introverted person, it can become draining really fast.
Did you catch Keeping Up with the Kardashians last Sunday night? I love how Khloe mentioned Kendall is a little more introverted when she was just wanting some one-on-one time with Brody. That was probably my favorite part of the whole show, because I could identify with her.
People who are more introspective tend to really value deep connections and relationships. They aren’t into ‘small talk-in’ it or having a whole bunch of relationships just to say they have them. They find greater value in deepening the ones that are already there.
Here are a few more advantages to living an introspective lifestyle:
- You are able to give great advice. People probably love coming to you to talk because you’re a great listener. They don’t feel threatened by you and, likely they know you’re a deep thinker – a person of words when you need to be. People are drawn to a person they can tell weighs options and thinks before they act – they will trust you to lead them the right way when they aren’t sure which way to go.
- You’re not interested in stirring up a bunch of drama. Introspective or introverted people are very “in their heads” a lot of the time. We may be called “quiet”, but to us, our world is incredibly loud. It’s not like the blog photos you see either, where someone is sitting on the window sill, staring out into the distance. Usually, it’s the opposite – when we’re watching TV or reading a book our mind can be thinking of 20 different things. As a result of such a loud mind, most introspective people bring with them very little drama on purpose – there’s nowhere to file the details of someone else in that great of detail – we have too much to think about as it is.
- You make better decisions. Introspection is an advantage in that; it is a trait that causes pause. Pause to think and weigh options, consequences and advantages to a decision. An introspective lifestyle is one where a person almost always weighs all the possibilities before they act. They tend to be better at establishing self-boundary and honoring their bodies and values more.
- You are highly creative. A really introspective person takes in a lot of information, visuals, and ideas and then makes and draws connections between them in their mind like some people only wish they could. Many of the great artists, philosophers, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders of our time have been introspective individuals who drew conclusions or created new market space as a result of inward connections of ideas.
As an introspective and introverted woman myself, I’ve had to learn tricks of the trade when it comes to balancing my own inner thought life with the hyper-connected society I live in. What about you? Are you introspective? What other advantages can you share?
