Being an Introvert

Being an introvert can be difficult by living in an extroverted world. I remember being bullied by family, friends and colleagues for being an introvert along with being shy. Until recently, when I started reading and listening to books about introverts I never even realised that I was an introvert.

Comprehend trying to be an extrovert all your life just so you can be accepted by family, friends and colleagues. It is awful trying to be someone you are not, after learning more about introverts, 50% of the world’s population is some way related to being introverted, which is a very interesting fact.

When being an introvert it could be difficult of being within an unusual environment, being amongst people you have never met before. Your mind will play all sorts of games with you, telling you that you do not belong here, see told you that you will struggle to even talk, look everyone is enjoying this environment apart from you, on top of that you could be feeling anxious and out of your comfort zone.

I have 2:1 degree in Electronic Engineering but have struggled with in my career because of always struggling to try to sell myself. It just feels like life has passed me by all due to being an introvert. Do I regret my life, well the answer to do that question can be yes or no? I love everything I have achieved in my life so far it has made me the person that I have developed in to over the last 43 years. The regret I have is that I never learnt about introverts sooner, so that I could have accepted being an introvert and used it to my advantage.

I do not believe enough is said and taught about being an introvert is ok in this big world. We are all different, it is best to live your life being you because rather than trying to be someone you are not. This is you lying to yourself but also lying to everyone else around you too, making yourself look fake. If you must be someone you are not to be accepted by the people around you then those people do not deserve to be a part of your life.

I have learnt this the hard way by suffering for 43 years of my life. Learning about introverts and extroverts and how they differ by reading and listening to audiobooks has changed my life. I have learnt what are the positives and negatives of being an introvert. How to use the positives of being an introvert to my advantage. I have learnt how to express myself without having to shout from the mountain tops.

I have also learnt that in the western world a lot more pressure is put on you to be an extrovert even if you are an introvert. I know this first hand I have been bullied to a point where I wish death would be better than living in this world. I hated myself by not being like others who were always popular and liked.

My aim is to raise awareness so that others who are going through the pain and hurt I went through all my life to let them know you are not on your own. It is ok to be an introvert you can still live a great life being an introvert and use your abilities to achieve great success in life rather than being made to feel like a failure, loser, someone that will never get anywhere in life.

I will give you a quick example of how I am using one of the benefits of being an introvert to better myself. Extroverts love to talk and share things with family, friends and even strangers, my beautiful wife is totally opposite of me she can go to work in the morning and come back home in the evening telling me she has made a new friend today by starting talking to a stranger on her way to work on the train.

I have learnt I might struggle to communicate by talking but I have always been good at writing. I do not remember a lot about my youth but the one thing that I have always remembered is that at school in my final year at the age of 11 the teacher had asked me to write a play for the parents.

I had to read a book and write a play including the names of what each classmate was going to say, it was like a script for this parents night. At the end of the evening, I was told by teachers and parents that I had done well on writing this final year play and they could not believe it was written by someone only 11 years old.

I have decided I am going to start writing hence why I am on vocal I just came across vocal by an advertisement on Instagram. This platform is perfect for me to start writing my overall goal being to write a book one day. It is every small step you take that adds up to get you to your end goal. I hope you have enjoyed reading my story please provide your feedback to help me develop into a better writer.

If you or anyone you know is an introvert, then I would love to know what struggles have you suffered living in an extroverted world?