A couple of weeks ago, I was walking with a long time friend and we were chatting about everything. And nothing. The topic came around to social skills. And our interactions with people. And he hesitantly told me that I had some room for improvement in my social skills and interaction with people.
I had the usual knee jerk reaction to feedback. I disagreed. And even before I finished disagreeing, I knew that he was right. On social skills, my family and friends who are extremely kind to me, would rate me a -10 on a scale of 1 - 10.
On the opposite side of the spectrum to my being an extreme introvert is my beautiful wife. With her amazingly pleasing personality (her words, not mine), she is an extrovert and has the ability to talk to anyone, even unknown strangers. And I've always envied her ability. And wished I had a small fraction of it.
I've recognized this personality or rather lack of it, and tried to move on and stumble through social interaction as best as I can. And as luck would have it, I jumped when I came across a TED talk titled, "The power of introverts."
And while I'll continue to try and take small steps to learn and improve my social skills, its nice to know that our inability does have its benefits. For ourselves and for others. And while we are definitely not better off than extroverts, it seems like we are not less well off, either.
And if you're an introvert like me, check this out. And if you;re an extrovert unlike me, you need to check this out too.
The power of introverts | Susan Cain
I had the usual knee jerk reaction to feedback. I disagreed. And even before I finished disagreeing, I knew that he was right. On social skills, my family and friends who are extremely kind to me, would rate me a -10 on a scale of 1 - 10.
On the opposite side of the spectrum to my being an extreme introvert is my beautiful wife. With her amazingly pleasing personality (her words, not mine), she is an extrovert and has the ability to talk to anyone, even unknown strangers. And I've always envied her ability. And wished I had a small fraction of it.
I've recognized this personality or rather lack of it, and tried to move on and stumble through social interaction as best as I can. And as luck would have it, I jumped when I came across a TED talk titled, "The power of introverts."
And while I'll continue to try and take small steps to learn and improve my social skills, its nice to know that our inability does have its benefits. For ourselves and for others. And while we are definitely not better off than extroverts, it seems like we are not less well off, either.
And if you're an introvert like me, check this out. And if you;re an extrovert unlike me, you need to check this out too.
The power of introverts | Susan Cain
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