You may not realize how rare—or how super—these powers are. But if you have them, put them to good use.
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Did you know that you may have superpowers?
Yep, like honest to goodness superpowers. Abilities and attributes that make you uniquely awesome. A few people with these powers include Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, J.K. Rowling and Steven Spielberg.
So, how do you know if you’re one of the lucky few born with these special abilities?
Answer these questions to find out:
- Are you able to focus on tasks for long periods of time?
- Are you a good listener?
- Do you usually think before you act?
If you said yes to all three – congratulations, you might be an introvert. Which is awesome, because you pretty much won the lottery on concentration skills, listening, and creative, out-of-the-box thinking.
Now don’t get me wrong, all my life I wished I was more extroverted.
In grade school, I wished I was the funny class clown instead of the studious teacher pleaser …
Moving on. In college it was more of the same. Some friends and I once crashed a random party, and where I was worried that the party police would somehow know we weren’t invited, one of my friends grabbed a banana, walked up to people and said “I think this call’s for you”.
Being in my head has allowed me to be a copywriter, to write and direct my own web-series, and to start an online business.
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Without fail, each person would laugh because it was so weird. So by the end of the night he was doing keg stands with all these new friends, and I was off in the corner quietly narrating the story in my head like I was in a YA novel.
Here’s that same friend with a napkin wrapped around his head.
However, I’ve since come around to see that being introverted isn’t something to overcome, but rather, something to embrace. Being in my head has allowed me to be a copywriter, to write and direct my own web-series, and to start an online business.
But now that I’m a father, I wonder about my one-year old son, and if he’ll have a hard time being an introvert in an extroverted world.
So I want to dedicate this article to him, and I’ll explain why being introverted is awesome, how it’s different than being shy, I’ll give you tips to maximize your innate abilities, and above all, to accept yourself just as you are.
What is “Introverted”?
So what does it mean to be introverted?
Depending on the study, about one-third to one-half of Americans are introverts.
According to Susan Cain in her great book – Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, introversion is more about stimulation and energy than social skills.
In her book, she refers to a study that showed introverts are born as highly reactive babies, which means they become more agitated when exposed to novel stimuli like new faces and loud noises.
Fast forward to adulthood and those highly reactive babies grow up to be adults who prefer to chill with a few close friends than a large party full of strangers.
This also shows the difference between being introverted and being shy. Susan Cain defines shy as “a fear of negative social judgment”. So when you’re shy, you’re not just in your own head, but you’re self-consciously scanning for social cues and slights, which can result in you feeling inhibited and locked up. So shy people are narrating the moment – instead of being in the moment.
Four Tips for the Introvert
1.Restore powers
We talked about stimulation, now let’s talk about the other piece about being introverted and that’s how we get and restore our energy.
Whereas extroverts thrive off of being around people, being social in general or for too long can be draining to an introvert. Instead, introverts recharge their batteries by being alone or letting their mind run free with a creative or artistic outlet.
2.Utilize strengths
Now that we explained what it means to be an introvert, let’s look at ways that you can maximize your own innate strengths.
The first and easiest way – ask questions.
According to the book “How to Make Friends as an Introvert: Discover Introvert-Friendly Ways to Meet New People, Improve Your Social Skills, and Make New Friends” by – asking questions is one of the keys to being a great conversationalist.
As an introvert, you probably ask a lot of questions anyway, whether you’re naturally inquisitive, or you just prefer to not have the spotlight on you. But it’s not enough to ask questions. And it’s not enough to listen to be able to respond.
But rather, you have to listen so the other person feels understood.
As an introvert, you might get into social situations and then feel like the witty part of your brain is blocked up like a water hose with a kink in it. Usually I will think of the perfect thing to say – about five minutes after the conversation has ended.
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For instance, have you ever asked someone their name and then immediately forgot what it was? That’s because we’re in our own head thinking about how we’re going to say our name, rather than being present and listening.
In a great book called the Charisma Myth, Olivia Fox Cabane talks about how charisma can be learned, and that charismatic people, like Bill Clinton, listen and focus all of their energy on the other person. So even if you’re super introverted, you can still make the person you’re talking to feel like they are the most important one in the room.
3.Preparation
Next let’s talk about preparation. As an introvert, you might get into social situations and then feel like the witty part of your brain is blocked up like a water hose with a kink in it. Usually I will think of the perfect thing to say – about five minutes after the conversation has ended.
According to the book “Quiet Influence: The Introvert’s Guide to Making a Difference, one way to overcome this is to actually prepare for parties or events ahead of time.
This makes sense, because as an introvert you probably feel more comfortable writing out a speech than doing it impromptu. So, think about who will be there and write out some tailored questions or maybe a funny story or two that you can whip out if needed.
4.Be yourself
And the last tip is to be yourself.
Just like listening and preparing, you can stand out by simply being authentic. In sheryl sandberg’s classic book “Lean In”, she talks about how being authentic makes us more relatable.
Telling people your fears and failings will make you one hundred percent more interesting than the person who only talks about how perfect their life is.
The superpower of being yourself
To close, this isn’t about throwing shade at the extroverts and saying introverts are better. We’re both great in our unique ways.
But I do want to empower the introverts and encourage you to appreciate what makes you uniquely awesome.
If life is all about connecting with someone and being human, you’ve got it made. Just be yourself. And you’ll be a superstar.
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Photo: Pixabay