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A Writer's Reflections

~ Perspectives of a thinker, booklover, and follower of Jesus

A Writer's Reflections

Tag Archives: introvert

The Art of Hanging Out with Yourself

17 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by Heather in Christian Living, introvert, life, Random Reflections, Spiritual Reflections

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Tags

God's presence, God's voice, introvert, personal, problem-solving, quiet, silence, solitude, think

woman wearing purple hooded jacket sitting on rock

Photo by Pete Johnson on Pexels.com

This week I had a few days off, so my sister and I decided to take this opportunity to go stay at a peaceful, secluded Airbnb in the mountains near where we live and just get some quality rest and relaxation.

This place is seriously an introvert’s paradise. It’s secluded (i.e. private!), but situated in a gated community near a small town, so not too far away from civilization; also, it is quiet. Like, really quiet. Did I mention quiet? Which needs no words of recommendation for the introvert. Plus, it’s beautiful. The living room window and back porch open out to an incredible view over a valley, with pines, oaks, and other greenery scattered around, and frequent wildlife activity. It’s amazing! Peaceful, quiet, relaxing. A much-needed retreat from the daily stress and obligations of life.

I love to be alone. I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again. I really enjoy being by myself. Other people might think I’m crazy for wanting to spend an entire day or weekend alone at home, but I thrive on solitude. I think it’s my natural state.

Being alone is so peaceful, relaxing, and non-stressful. You add other humans into the mix, and I start to feel my stress level rising, depending on the specific people involved.

But give me a day or two to just immerse myself in utter solitude, and I feel refreshed, revitalized, and filled with world-conquering confidence.

Maybe that’s not so surprising. After all, I am an introvert (my personality type is INTP, if you’re into that)–and if you consider yourself an introvert, you probably relate to me on some level.

But, whether you’re an introvert or not, there is something special about spending time away from the bustle and noises of the world, away from the constant demands and voices of people and parties, business and machinery. Continue reading →

How to Stop Feeling Alone in a Room Full of People

30 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by Heather in Christian Living, God, Identity, inspiration, introvert, life, Love

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Tags

alone, God, inspiration, introvert, Love

Check out this amazing post by Brandon Adams about how to stop feeling alone. Honestly, this is one of the biggest things I’ve struggled with all my life, and the only thing that has truly been the answer to that problem is what Brandon talks about in his post. So I hope you are encouraged like I was.

Brandon J. Adams

We all can feel alone even when surrounded by our greatest fans.

You probably know how this goes. Moments come where we feel something unshareable, something that seems to set us apart from the gathering. It might be a pain, or it might be a joy. Whatever it is, we know the others aren’t feeling it. It’s stuck inside us.

It’s the worst feeling.

Finding someone like-minded to us is cause for celebration, along the lines of finding a vein of gold on your property. But they seem few and far between. Our struggles pull us toward isolation.

This is often our God-shaped hole. There are parts of us that are just too deep for any human to reach. Those needs belong on the broad shoulders of God.Lost in a crowd?

However…God Himself did not intend for humans to live alone. In a stunning act of humility, He designed us to need each other as well. (It’s also one of His tools of sanctification…

View original post 471 more words

Reblogs from Thought Catalog: Why the Introvert Movement May Be Going a Bit Too Far

30 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by Heather in introvert, Random Reflections

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Tags

introvert, introvert movement, personality, personality labels

Though I do identify as an introvert in most cases, these two articles perfectly capture some of my recent thoughts about introversion vs. extroversion and the whole “introvert movement.” I still love the whole study of personality types and I always have fun with introvert-centered pictures, memes, articles, and all that, but I do think that in real-life living and relationships it’s about time we left off our extreme labeling (and resulting prejudices) and simply focused on being ourselves, in our own unique and special ways.

Continue reading →

Quote of the Week | Being Understanding

25 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by Heather in Christian Living, introvert, Quote of the Week, Random Reflections, Spiritual Reflections

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Tags

compassion, introvert, Jesus, Love, misunderstood, others, Quote of the Week, self-denial

I’m starting up my “Quote of the Week” posts again, so without further ado, here is one of my recent additions to “My Favorite Quotes” page:

Continue reading →

Seven More Problems With Being an Introvert (Part 2 – Introvert Problems)

15 Friday Apr 2016

Posted by Heather in introvert, Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

introvert, introvert problems, musings, personality, problems, Random Reflections, traits

hiding behind books

This is part 2 of my “Introvert Problems” blog series. You can read part 1 here.

Here you go– Seven more problems that we introverts deal with on a regular basis.

1. When you need to take time to prepare yourself for any upcoming event or party where there is any kind of social interaction or activity (my sister laughed at this concept when I tried to explain it to her . . . apparently it’s a very foreign idea to the extrovert sphere).

If someone springs any kind of spontaneous thing on me that involves a lot of people I have to work hard to keep the panicky or nervous butterflies feeling from taking over my body. Yikes!! For future reference, if you want me to go to any social thing with you please plan on telling me about it at least a week in advance for me to properly process the idea in my mind. Thank you. (Ok, I don’t always need that much time, but I do really appreciate a decent amount of warning. However depending on what it is, I might need a week.)

2. When you can’t just sit quietly and seriously in one place not doing or saying anything, without someone asking you, “Are you ok?”

Uh, thank you for your concern, but yes, I actually just like to sit and not smile or talk every once in a while, because constant smiling and talking is so much against my natural tendency. That doesn’t mean that something is wrong with me, or that I’m grumpy or mad. I’m just being my normal contemplative self.

3. When you love being home alone but you don’t want to make your family feel bad when they come home or think that you don’t want them there even though you kind of don’t . . .

. . . but that’s nothing against them–I love my family a lot!–it’s just that people are people, no matter who they happen to be.

4. When you really like taking pictures of people but you have a subconscious standard of how close you can get to people with a camera without them noticing your presence, and so you either deal with zoomed-out and/or slightly blurry photos or resort to spending lots of money on telephoto lenses (which is not all bad because telephoto lenses are just awesome anyways).

5. When you don’t look forward to your birthday because on that dreadful day all the attention is directly. on. you. *cue ominous music*

And the worst part is opening your presents. Even if it’s just your family! True story.

6. When you have to eat a meal with other people outside of your family, and you have to be extra careful to not slurp or burp or make a mess, and everyone is at the same table facing toward each other and they’re all looking at you.

A twisted extrovert invention, I guarantee you.

7. When you wonder if you are taking this introvert thing too seriously . . .

I mean, really, am I just weird or paranoid or something? Is this something that I should try to get over? What’s the correct balance between being myself, true to my nature, and getting too far into the fear of man or something?

Hmm. So what do you think?

Let me know your thoughts on introvert problems whether you are an introvert or not, and be sure to subscribe to my blog so you get notifications of each new post! Thanks for reading!

15 Problems With Being An Introvert

28 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by Heather in introvert, Random Reflections

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

introvert, personality, problems, Random Reflections, traits

Washed Ashore

Lately, my posts have all been on the more serious or spiritual side, which is great, but I thought it was time for a slightly more lighthearted post.

About . . . introvertedness!! One of my favorite subjects.

Why about that boring subject? Because, well, for one, I am one (an introvert – not boring). Two, I think non-introverts sometimes need a little help understanding our kind. Three, I want to let other introverts out there know that they aren’t alone in this. Four, I just want to make my (older, highly extroverted) sister laugh. Because I know it will. *wink*

Okay, here’s my list of problems that I personally deal with on a regular basis. I hope some of you fellow introverts can relate to some of these.

1. Wanting to leave a party or church get-together so I can go sit in the car and read.

This happens to me almost every time. Unless it is a small group of close friends and I’m winning at the game or activity we’re doing (or there is really good food, especially involving chocolate).

2. Making every possible effort to avoid having to talk to someone on the phone.

I’ll do anything else, write 17 emails, beg another family member to do it for me, text someone instead of calling, to keep from having to undertake that menacing task.

3. Taking a round-about route among the rows and walkways in Walmart (or any store/public place) to avoid other customers.

I’ve been known to cut through side rows, go around racks of clothes or duck behind stuff to keep from having to interact with or pass by other people (ahhhhh!!!!! – ahem, excuse me).

4. Waiting until everyone else leaves a public restroom before exiting the stall to wash my hands.

Tell me I’m not the only person who has done this. Or else this is super embarrassing, and I’m going to go crawl in a hole and send this blog into oblivion for all of eternity. But really, I just really like to minimize my contact with people if possible. I promise you I’m not crazy.

5. Crossing the road to avoid meeting another person on my side of the road.

Nope, I don’t hate you. I’m just . . . being an introvert.

6. Having an eloquent and well-thought-out discussion/argument all laid out in my head, and then opening my mouth to verbalize it and what comes out makes no sense whatsoever. Having an amazing thought in my head, but not being able to express it.

This is one of the worst things about being a thinker rather than a talker. I need about an hour to write out my thoughts clearly, and then I’ll read them to you.

7. When visiting someone else’s house with a large group of people (esp. strangers), wandering through the house until I find a quiet room a safe distance away from the group and conducive to reflection and stimulation (ideally with lots of books in it).

It’s like taking a deep breath of fresh air to find that haven of solitude.

8. Having a hard time not getting upset when someone interrupts my internal dialogue.

Sometimes I have such stimulating and intricate trails of thought in my head and it can be a little frustrating to have them interrupted.

9. Wanting to take the stairs instead of the elevator because there might be people in the elevator – oh, the horror.

I’ve always wanted to try those pranks that you do to a group in an elevator, but I don’t know if I’d ever get enough courage to actually do them.

10. Dreading when visitors stay at our house, because that means that I have to look alive at all times.

Again, I promise that it’s never because I don’t like you or I hate people. It’s just so stressful for me because I’m not a natural entertainer. If I lived alone and had to have you stay at my house, I’d probably set up a complicated scavenger hunt for you outside, send you off, and then retreat to my room and books.

11. Wanting to escape to a far-away place with minimal human interaction, but still keep my internet connection.

Yes, I love interacting with people when they can’t see or hear me.

12. People assuming that “sweet and quiet” is all there is to my personality.

I’ll let this meme say it for me:

You May Know Me . . . | Pinterest

. . . unless you take the time to really get to know me.

13. People thinking that when I’m sitting by myself I must be terribly lonely and must wish that someone would come over and talk to me.

Ahem…I went over here in between the roses and the fence for a reason. Thank you very much.

Seriously, I actually really enjoy hanging out with myself. People should do it more often – they might just discover that they are pretty good company.

14. Saying something dumb or confusing in a conversation, and then spending the next three hours analyzing how I could have said it better.

The worst kind of disaster to relive in my mind . . .

15. Being at some place and wishing I could go home and hug my dog because she really understands how to be there for me without saying a word.

There’s a reason they are called man’s best friend.

Well, those are just a few of the traumas we introverts live through daily. Just kidding, they aren’t really that bad in the grand scheme of things. And being who I am is worth all the trouble along the way. I love who I am and my personality, although I haven’t always, and I know that God always has something to teach me through these things.

Just remember, even though your particular personality type tends toward certain characteristics or quirks, that is not always a good excuse for acting in a way that is not pleasing to God. I know I struggle a lot with how I am around people, but I also know that God has been teaching me through my struggles and improving those negative traits over the years, and He will help me to overcome them in time.

If you are an introvert (or even if you’re not) and you’d like to add to this list, please do so! I might do a part 2 one of these days.

Oh, and if you are interested in learning more about my interesting personality, take a look at this board over on my Pinterest. It’s a fun collection of memes and things that really describe my personality in a humorous manner.

Hope you enjoyed this, and thanks for reading!

(Update: I have indeed written a part 2 to this series since writing this post, so if you’d like to check it out, click here!)

~~~

If you are new to me or my blog, feel free to check out my About page and my Intro Post!

Thanks for visiting!

Heather Headshot

Hey, my name is Heather - writer, muser, book-lover, photographer, Jesus follower, among many other things. Welcome to my blog, where I talk about life, books, random thoughts, and whatever God has been teaching me recently. I hope that you'll stay a while and I'd love to hear from you!

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