Are you an extrovert or an introvert? You may know straight
away or you may think that you’re a mixture of both – most people are. We live
in a world that celebrates the extrovert – to be successful and happy in life
you need to be outgoing, confident, talkative and sociable. But is this really
the case?
With introverts being labelled as quiet, shy and sometimes
unsociable it’s no wonder that people would automatically assume a typical
introvert is unsuccessful or unhappy. However, maybe it’s time to question this
myth and look at introversion as a positive personality trait that almost half
the world’s population possesses.
What Does The
Research Say?
Studies on happiness have become more and more popular and
what’s abundantly clear time and again, is our happiness it more dependant on
our personalities rather than material possessions.
One study 1 looking at the behaviour of young people
internationally, found that those who moved through their day in a more
extroverted way, were found to lead much happier lives – this was in spite of
geographical location and culture. Many more studies back this up but is this a
fair evaluation?
Could The Idea That
Extroverts Are Happier Than Introverts Be a Myth?
While these studies are interesting and worthwhile, there
is, what could be considered, a flaw in how people’s personalities are
measured. Most psychologists use what’s called the NEO PI-R assessment when
conducting happiness and personality studies which only focus on the presence
or absence of extroverted qualities.
In other words, there is no emphasis on positively valuing
introverted qualities. If you’re an introvert yourself you can identify with
the happiness you feel sitting by yourself with a good book and perhaps
socialising less than extroverts, yet these are considered qualities that
extroverts would associate with unhappiness.
Extroverts thrive and re-energize by being around people and
interacting, but introverts re-energize by taking themselves away and finding
calm and quiet. It’s because of this that introverts fail to score highly on
happiness scales in controlled studies as these low-key activities aren’t considered
a source of happiness.
There’s also a struggle that introverts can experience that
comes from the pressure of living in a world where extroversion is celebrated.
Introverts can be made to feel outcasted because they don’t measure up to the
lifestyles of those with extroverted qualities. Some introverts may lead a life
that goes against their natural wants and needs in order to fit in to an
extroverted world. This in itself could cause introverts to feel less happy
moving through life.
Embracing Happiness
No Matter What Your Personality Type
So what can we conclude from this? Are these studies really
giving us an accurate understanding of happiness and how we interact with the
world? While interaction with others is a huge factor in our happiness, for
some it’s quality not quantity that decides how we feel in our relationships
with others.
But considering happiness is not all based on relationships
and how often we interact, does this mean introverts are just as happy as
extroverts? Eastern culture has introduced mindfulness, calm, meditation and
quiet as an important way to connect with ourselves and reach inner happiness –
things that introverts do naturally by spending more time alone.
Happiness is subjective. Introverts find more happiness in
their inner-worlds while extroverts find happiness through their external
worlds. But despite whether one is better than the other, what a lot of studies
agree on is that the key to happiness is down to accepting ourselves, finding
purpose, and creating a good social circle.
And what can definitely be concluded is that this can be
achieved by anyone whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert.
Source: Lifehack.org
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