Each one of us is unique, even though we belong to the same human race and even though there are 7.4 billion of us! It’s hard to even consider that, with so many of us in this world. Seems statistically impossible, doesn’t it? But it’s true. The reason for that is that each person is a sum of his personality, hopes, dreams, aspirations, likes and dislikes, genetics and general perception of reality. There are too many variables. But it makes us who we are.
Personality of a person is perhaps one of the most important traits. It is how people perceive you. It dictates how people communicate with you and even the direction that your life will take. There are all sorts of people in the world with different inherent nature and personalities. But one could argue that there are two basic type of people. These are the introverts and the extroverts.
Introverts
Psychology defines an introvert as a person who is predominantly concerned with his own thoughts and feelings rather than with external things. They tend to be shy and like to spend time alone. They rarely like to socialise, as this might cause them anxiety. The world looks upon them like something is wrong with them and are often stereotyped as loners.
It’s not that they hate people or are miserable beings just sitting in the corner of a room staring at the ceiling with no purpose. They just like spending time alone away from all the noise, chaos and drama. These are peaceful creatures who like calm and quiet.
Extroverts
They are everything an introvert is not. They are energetic and like spending time outside. They like socialising, meeting new people, increasing their friends circle, travelling the world.
These are the leaders, the visionaries, the explorers. They want to be in the midst of things; a part of the human affairs. They are predominantly concerned with external things or objective considerations.
Is it strictly one or the other?
It is often believed that people fall under one or the other category. But that cannot be further from the truth. As humans, we are nature’s masterpiece. It’s quite ego-centric to think that but it is quite true. We are different than all other species on the planet. We can reason, make sense, have consciousness and awareness of our existence and we can ask the most difficult questions and have the power to understand them as well.
And this makes us different. Different to other organisms around the world and different to each other as well. And this is the reason we can’t simply fall under two categories. It’s more complex than that, just like our nature itself.
I remember a quote by Carl G. Jung who said, “There is no such thing as a pure introvert or extrovert. Such a person would be in the lunatic asylum” And I totally agree with this. The human nature is more of a yin-yang thing. There is good, there is bad. There is good in bad and bad in good.
And all of this can exist independently and inter-dependently. It’s all about which quality has pre-dominance. Such complexity, and yet it is beautifully simple if you think about it.
While discerning a type for an individual, a lot of factors come into play. Every life is a world in its own. Everyone is going through life with particular set of parameters that dictate everything else. These can be your financial situation, your health, your mood at any given time, and the general level at where things are in life. All these come into play while deciding what kind of a person someone is.
And this is exactly where my point resides. Nobody is strictly introvert or extrovert at all times. Sometimes an extrovert feels down or depressed and acts like an introvert. The same can be true the other way around.
Growing up I could never figure out in what category I fit into. I have always liked being alone, writing, reading, binge watching TV shows, thinking about random stuff and what not. But I have also always liked travelling, seeing new places, having new experiences, meeting new, interesting people. Basically when I was indoors, I hated going outside and when I was outside, I hated going home!
Ambivert - The Best of Both Worlds
An Ambivert is a person who has both qualities. They like socialising but not for long. They like alone time but not for long either. They have the best qualities from both the worlds. Most of us are ambiverts. Some of us tend to fall more towards the introvert side and some of us towards the extrovert. But it can be undoubtedly said that all of us somewhere in the middle.
The best way to look at this is with a scale. The question is not whether you are an extrovert on an introvert but how much of each.
Perks of being an Ambivert
Best of both worlds
All qualities have importance in life. Being alone helps with your thinking and creative needs while socialising helps with your human needs. An ambivert enjoys the best of both worlds. He doesn’t miss out on anything and gets to have both sets of experiences and looks at the world through two different sets of eyes making his opinion that much more valuable.
They are observant, intuitive, creative, sensitive towards people’s feelings, thoughtful, imaginative like the introverts while at the same time are adventurous, confident, smart, with leadership qualities of an extrovert. It’s like mixing two superpowers together and creating a super-superhero!
Ambiverts Adapt
There are many situations in life where you are supposed to act a certain way. Being an ambivert, a person can easily adapt to different situations, happy or sad and can act accordingly. He is flexible. At a party he can be charming and lovely and at the same time he can enjoy a quiet movie. Also, an ambivert can understand if and when someone else wants to have some space.
More Emotionally Stable
While introverts tend to be hypersensitive and extroverts highly confident and not easily influenced by outside factors, it is the ambivert that strikes the balance perfectly. He is neither too sensitive nor too confident. He manages to keep a cool head and look at things objectively. It leads to better decision making and handling of situations.
They understand people
Introverts don’t seem to understand extroverts and vice versa. The former may seem too anti-social and the later may seem to dominating to one another. But since an ambivert has both qualities, he understands both sets of people. And in several situations, an ambivert can serve as a liaison between the two, helping get the messages across in such ways as both types of people can understand.
Better leaders
A leader understands his employees and leads them to success based on every individual’s personality type. Everyone has to be nurtured differently. And since an ambivert is basically the sum of all personalities, who better at the job. He can manage expectations and develop each personality type in ways that everyone can work together in a peaceful, cohesive environment. This results in them being the perfect leaders.
