Hacking Introversion

I cannot find my Meyers Brigg's test results from years ago, but I am fairly certain that I fell in the introverted spectrum along with at least one third of the population on this spectrum, you would think that introverts would not get such grief like Susan Cain did during summer camp.

Introverts are not antisocial, they simply have less social "juice" in their cup. Put another way, Introverts have less social energy while Extroverts simply have more. The Introvert will typically deplete their social energy in two to three hours, but varies person to person.

Once depleted, Introverts must return to their place of refuge to recharge, which takes considerably longer. This leads to fewer social interactions and longer spans between interactions, which is often mistaken for antisocial behavior. Thankfully, there are some hacks for this.

Schedule Your Social Time

Obviously, the first step in hacking introversion is to plan your activities. If an event lasts longer than your personal tolerance, arrive fashionably late. This avoids the chance that you might be encouraged to stay the duration of the event. Even so, it helps to have another activity planned immediately after to ensure you are not tempted to stay for the after party.

Warm Up With Friends

The next tip is to spend time with people you are comfortable with before heading out to be social. When you are around friends, your defenses are down; in other words, you are relaxed. Often, friends will greet you with a handshake or a hug. Physical contact releases Oxytocin, the bonding hormone that is more likely to get you in a relaxed, social mood.

Practice Often

Lastly, as with anything, being social gets easier with practice. So, plan to practice and plan accordingly.

With these new tools at your disposal, you will be able to be more social, on your terms.

Stay well engineered,

Devon

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These statements or products referenced are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.