– not when it comes to your happiness!
Dear Authentic Introvert,
What makes you happy?
Is it spending time with friends, binge-watching your favorite shows, earning a ton of money, buying new stuff or something else?
Or is it the number of likes you get on social media?
Whatever controls your happiness controls you because at the end of the day, happiness is all we seek.
However, when it comes to introverts, most of us find happiness within ourselves.
We prefer solo activities over group events for fun.
This sometimes leads others to believe we don’t know how to have real fun.
But the fact is – our way of having fun is quite empowering because we are not looking for external stimulation and validation to be happy.
It may sound strange to hear but there are people in this world who cannot feel happy about their wins unless there is a crowd cheering for them.
How helpless one should feel when they can’t even enjoy their achievements without external validation.
However, back when I was naive about my introversion and the unique strengths that come with it, I was often made to believe that I wasn’t happy.
“You should get out more.”
“You should pick that job because it pays more for what you do.”
“Let’s party with these people because they really know how to have fun.”
And I’d often give in and agreed to experience these, only to find out that the only thing such people know is to make a lot of noise so it could drown their rational thoughts that were making them unhappy.
They rely on false compliments from random strangers to feel good about themselves.
They brag about their possessions to feel good about themselves.
Whenever I gave in to such requests, I felt drained, sometimes disgusted and like an outlier in these social setups.
Why would I be interested in how much money a total stranger made in the last year?
The more I think about it the sadder I feel for them.
Ironically, what’s fun for some is nothing but an overload of work for us to simply survive it.
I’ve felt that introverts are closer to reality than extroverts can ever be while having a powerful imagination that can lift our spirits.
What an amazing combo that is!
And that’s why we must choose our own fun, our own happiness… and refill ourselves with the right kind of energy.
Key Takeaway:
Don’t let others define your happiness.
And make sure to indulge more in what’s fun for you, even if it isn’t for the world.
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