My personality: an introvert, extrovert, or an ambivert?

All this time I thought that a personality is always either black or white. While there are different personality types, the words introvert and extrovert are very common when someone is trying to describe a personality.

But here is the thing, what if we can have some traits from both categories? What can we call ourselves?

When someone asked me if I was an introvert or an extrovert, I automatically replied, “I am an extrovert.” Even though deep down I knew that I was not a total extrovert, I had to choose a category to fit in. It was the closest to explain my character between both.

I am the kind of person who is not a fan of interacting with people in a crowded place with too many strangers, yet I love socializing and can easily communicate with strangers.

I love going to places and hanging out with my friends, yet I love spending time alone too. I am not much of a planner, but I do plan some tasks before doing them.

I realized that I have traits from both personality types. This made me believe that I don’t really fit in either of the categories. All this time I thought that the closest I can get is that I am an extrovert but it is not true.

I don’t have a problem with spending time alone with myself for the whole day or spending it with my friends. I enjoy both situations. I can spend my day reading, writing, or doing other things to kill time, and still enjoy it.

In most situations, I think before I speak because I try my best not to hurt anyone. However, there are times I think as I speak without thinking about what I should say especially in sudden situations. So again I can be an introvert and an extrovert too.

So I came across a new personality type that made complete sense to me…an ambivert. Someone who is both: introvert and extrovert.

Let us look into the key differences between each personality type so you can figure out exactly what your personality is.

Who is an Introvert?

Introverts are people who prefer to spend time alone. They feel very overwhelmed if they spent even some time in a crowd. Their ideal environment is either their home, the library, or a quiet place with limited people. This is the way they gain their energy.

Introverts choose their circle and stick to them. They don’t go looking for people to give them company. They are not comfortable with just anyone. Instead, they often go for solitude and choose to spend private time with their closed ones.

For introverts, setting boundaries in communication is very important. They feel uncomfortable with being open to strangers in the way they communicate, and they never start a conversation with anyone. In fact, they don’t even like small talks.

They prefer to think before they speak because it makes them self-aware of what they are saying. To them, reflecting on their experiences is very important so they are always cautious of their behavior in public.

Who is an Extrovert?

Extroverts are the total opposite of introverts. They get their energy from socializing and meeting new faces. If they try to spend some time alone, they feel bored and lonely. Some of them might also lose their mind.

Their ideal environment is places like parties, social gatherings, etc. Extroverts need spice and variety to gain energy. The only way they feel energized is through other people around them. Unlike introverts, extroverts don’t mind being the center of attention. In fact, it cheers them with joy.

Extroverts don’t look for a particular circle to hang out with. Since they are open to making friends easily, they tend to have a wide circle of friends to hang out with. Depending on their mood, they look for people to spend time with.

For extroverts, there are no boundaries when it comes to communication. They can talk to anyone about anything without feeling any kind of discomfort. They are the ones who initiate and engage in conversations with strangers.

NOTE:
Most people believe that a shy person is an introvert because of the barrier they face in the freedom to initiate a conversation. This is not true. There are shy extroverts too.

When a shy introvert is at a party, they will feel very nervous to communicate with anyone there and start to feel drained out wishing they could just go back home.

When a shy extrovert is at a party, they enjoy meeting new people but they are not confident to start conversing with them. They mostly wait for someone to approach them first.

Who is an Ambivert?

There are more people of this personality type than any of the above. Ambiverts are a mix of both introverts and extroverts. They share some of the personality traits in introversion and extroversion. This is why they suffer the most in taking a decision on how to spend their time.

You see, introverts and extroverts are very clear about what they want and how they want to spend their time. However, because ambiverts are okay with anything, they experience a struggle on how to spend their time. Should they be alone or look for external activities?

They don’t mind sitting amongst a group of people having conversations, but they can be quiet the whole time and only answer to questions pointed to them. They are good listeners and communicators. They can join small talks but not engage with them because they find them insincere.

Being the spotlight is not an issue to ambiverts if in the right ambience, yet they prefer to stand at the sidelines.

How to deal with people with different personalities?

After figuring out the key differences between the three main personalities, what do you think is your personality? Finding out your exact personality will to help you to get to know yourself better, but it shouldn’t affect your friendships and relationships.

Not because you are an introvert you will not be able to deal with an extrovert or vice-versa. You can befriend people with different personalities and enjoy their company too.

One thing you need to attain is to learn how to communicate with people that have different personalities. You should be honest, non-judgmental, and set boundaries with everyone around you. Compromise when needed. A true relationship or friendship needs to have a give and take in their relationship to survive.

To have the best bond with the people around us, all we have to do is learn to love each other in the right way.

Thank you for reading till the end 🙂

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