An Introvert's Guide to Keeping Good Relationships

Being an introvert is not easy. To be able to say no to parties, have good times with lots of laughter, meet all sorts of different people, crack jokes, and have a gala time is definitely not easy. Imagine giving up on all that just so that you can spend your time cuddled up in your cozy blanket enjoying a hot cup of joe, reading an exciting novel, or watching that documentary on how different monkeys mate. Well, that sounds pretty good, to be honest.

Even though I am tempted to search for that documentary now, I must pull myself together to write this blog which I feel will be of value to someone out there. The world revolves around people after all. And society. To be a part of that society, we need to be present and available to others. How difficult can that be? Really difficult if you have to consider the facts. Did you know that 25 to 40% of the world's population are introverts? That is a big number of people who are misconceived as having no emotions, who hate socializing, who have no drive to succeed, who are boring and whatnot.

So if you have been labeled as a brooder, loner, wallflower, or homebody, don't take things to heart. We are a larger group of people who can come together to show those extroverts how special we are. But who are we kidding? We would rather spend time with our one best friend, or our family, or go hiking by ourselves into the wilderness, playing with our cats and dogs. Our kind will be found in our safe havens minding our own business and not caring for a thing in the world. That is how we recharge and keep our sanity in this hyper social world of "connectivity".

Below are some misconceptions about introverts. I have added some humble rebuttals to these points as well.

* Introverts are shy : Yes, because they are deep thinkers and like to take their time to respond. Give them time and space. You will see that they have a lot to say.

* Introverts are low on emotions: They just prefer to keep cool in tense situations and deal with them when they are alone.

*Introverts hate socializing: Are you kidding me? They love to socialize and have fun, but only with people who "get" them. The more the merrier doesn't sit with them. And they hate "shallow" socializing.

* Introverts are rude: This may be very easy to assume. However, most of the time, they are figuring out how to make small talk or how to deal with someone they hardly know. Once they know a person, they can be the kindest person to talk to.

If you are still wondering how this blog is an introvert's guide to keeping good relationships, I would like to break it to you that we are perfectly capable of keeping good relationships. However, we choose quality over quantity. We need only those people in our lives who give us our space, who accept us for who we are, nothing more and nothing less. We ensure to speak when needed and act when it is required of us.

What the world needs to remember is that introverts are the Yin to the extrovert's Yang. We bring balance to the world which would otherwise resemble an overcrowded circus full of performers and no audience.

Enough said.

Speaking about circus, I really need to get back to that mating documentary.

Cheers!!