Now, most people have a pretty good idea of whether they’re an introvert or an extravert.
So, here’s an easy question for you: are you an introvert or an extravert?
Whatever you replied, I’m sure you’re right, but there’s a little bit more to
it.
Within introversion and extraversion you have a lot more detailed personality traits.
And understanding more about these can help improve your well-being: particularly if you’re
introverted.
In the west, we live in a world designed for extroverted behaviour.
To get ahead in a typical workplace, for example, you have to survive an open plan office, attend
conferences and their networking mixers and do presentations to rooms full of people.
In her book Quiet, Susan Cain calls this The Extravert Ideal - the belief that the ideal
self is gregarious, highly social and comfortable in the spotlight.
Even studies have found that extroverted people land more frequently in leadership positions
and enjoy higher levels of happiness.
A lot of these findings are based on broad definitions, where extroverts are sociable,
outgoing and assertive and introverts have a more reserved demeanour.
But there are many nuances of your personality.
A 2017 study looked at which detailed personality traits indicate high levels of well-being.
They found that higher enthusiasm predicted positive relationships, self-acceptance and
life satisfaction.
Those with more intellectual curiosity experienced more personal growth, which is probably good news for everyone watching this video!
And more industrious people were more like to be satisfied with their purpose in life
and experience positive mood.
Even if these personality traits aren't well-developed right now,
the can evolve over the course of your life.
You can aim to be more enthusiastic or industrious over time.
But it is a slow change.
Another line of research looks at how you feel in your environment right now.
This feeling of how well you fit into your surroundings, whether that be your school,
workplace or social settings, is known as person-environment fit.
A lot of people in the west who are more introverted feel like they don’t fit in, so then
they fake being extraverted, and this leads to lower self-esteem.
This was the basis for a 2018 study, where researchers
looked at the relationship between person-environment fit, introverts and well-being.
Participants were asked how introverted or extraverted they are and then how introverted
or extraverted they wanted to be.
The majority of participants wanted to be more extraverted, particularly those who were introverted.
This was largely because they live in a society that values extraversion.
More than 80% of the participants said they felt like it was necessary to show extraverted
characteristics in just going about their daily life.
Now researchers called this desire to be more extraverted than you are your extraversion-deficit
belief.
And it highlights the importance of self-acceptance in your beliefs.
For example: this study found introverts who were self-accepting and comfortable with their
introversion experienced higher levels of well-being, closer to the level experienced
by extraverts.
Well-being didn’t come from people having a particular personality trait, it came from
how their beliefs about themselves interacted with those traits.
So becoming accepting of your introversion and
your place on the introversion-extraversion continuum – is essential for introverts
to increase their well-being.
Luckily your beliefs can be changed.
For starters: Remember that schools and workplaces in the
West are often geared towards extraverts.
Feeling uneasy in these situations doesn’t mean that you don’t fit in, it means they
weren’t designed for you.
Focus on your strengths and situations where you can use them.
Know that not all introverts are the same.
Some are shy, some are anxious, some are reflective and others just prefer quiet time.
A good task is to add a qualifier to how you are introverted, so you can understand more
about how you will respond to a specific environment.
And don’t force yourself to be someone you’re not!
More than one third of people fall on the more
introverted side of the spectrum.
You can try to mould your personality traits to be more enthusiastic or intellectually curious or industrious over time.
And this may lead to increased wellbeing.
But the biggest thing that leads to happiness is acknowledging that being an introvert is okay.
It’s normal.
And practicing self-acceptance leads to the greatest boost in well-being.