What type of introvert are you?

I’m predominantly a thinking introvert also called reflective. When you look at the descriptions of the types of introverts you generally read that thinking introverts are day dreamers, which seems a little unfair to me. Yes, we tend to spend a lot of time in our heads, but the term ‘day dreaming’ suggests living a portion of our lives in fantasy worlds whereas nothing could be further from the truth for many of us. This thinking part is essential in innovation and problem solving not to mention personal development. Of course there's a flip side to everything and thinking introverts have a tendency to over think, so finding that 'off button' is essential if you're also a thinking introvert.

Being a thinking introvert is a gift to me in my line of work. My predominant thinking and reflective traits help me to listen not only to myself, but also to my clients, helping them see what’s really going on for them. All gifts come with equally strong burden or handicap and the nemesis of the thinking introvert is over thinking and doomsaying. If this is you, it’s important to recognise when this is happening and learn how to hear the important message that’s hidden in there, because doing that helps you comfort your fears rather than being controlled by them.

Of course you’re never just one thing and we all carry all the traits to varying degrees. So here's a quick look at the different types along with some of the traits and downfalls of each.

Social introverts for example prefer their own company or that of one or two others which can make networking tough. The big bonus of being a social introvert however is the ability to listen to the room, read the atmosphere and observe many things about a group that many extroverts won’t notice.

The socially introverted part of me helps me understand the challenges my clients face speaking up in meetings, tune into what they’re experiencing and help them start to push the boundaries of their abilities without getting overwhelmed. It keeps me away from large groups for long periods, and makes me conscious of my great need for down time. Knowing how quickly overwhelm can come over me in social settings means I’ve developed personal protective measures to ensure I can manage what I need to do without getting overwhelmed as well as building in essential recovery time.

Anxious introverts are more prone to panic attacks and just the thought of being faced by their trigger can bring on symptoms such as increased pulse, breathing and sweaty palms or any of the other common symptoms. There tends to be a lots of shame carried by anxious introverts, because their trigger is typically something that they see others mastering all around them without thought. I know because I’ve experienced it.

The anxious introvert in me gets triggered in quite specific situations, (such as walking into government buildings and appointments with authorities and certain sports) ) which means day to day I can usually choose not to experience anxiety most days if I choose to. However, it seems I was also born with a dislike of being afraid of things, particularly things other people find easy. So I frequently challenge myself to go way out of my comfort zone and try new things. This means I get to experience that anxiety and get experience facing and working with my fears, which is essential in helping my clients. I don’t think I’d be able to do my job if I hadn’t also experienced panic attacks and felt utterly terrified at something others make seem so easy and every day.

Restrained introverts like their privacy. They don’t have such a big problem with large groups of people like social introverts do, but engaging in small talk and getting to know others can be challenging as sharing personal information can make them feel vulnerable. The problem with this within the work place is that people don’t trust client people. When one person within a group remains silent mistrust subconsciously starts to manifest in the others. Unless you make some of what you’re thinking known, others will start to write their own dialogue of what going on in your head, and the chances are it isn’t going to be complementary.

I don’t have a very prominent restrained introvert side to my personality, which is useful because it allows me to share the important personal information, which my future clients need in order to get to know and trust me. That’s why I post several times a day across different platforms spanning different time zones, and why I record videos and have a podcast, so that you can easily get to know me and learn to trust me enough to help you work on the scary stuff that’s stopping you from moving forward.

Whatever type of introvert you are you can rest assured that even if we’re living and working in different worlds I understand your situation as an introvert. I’ve had that anxiety attack, been lost for words, felt like an imposter and been completely overwhelmed by professional and social engagements to the extent that I needed to hide from the world for days afterwards. I get how intimidating being an introvert in an extroverted world can be and I’ve found ways to not only live with it, but live a good fulfilling and visible life, without the overwhelm. And what’s more, I can show you how you can help yourself to do the same.

Do you recognise yourself in one or many of these introvert descriptions, or is it not so clear?

If you want to know what sort of introvert you are, you can take my introvert test here.

https://bit.ly/3UMXWxD