Most of us are familiar with the terms introverts and extroverts. What about ambiverts? I first became acquainted with the term when I tested as one.
Vowel Jumble
Extroverts are often thought of as the bubbly life of the party. Others describe them as people who draw their energy from interacting with others. Introverts, conversely, are perceived as Church mice and wall flowers who take their energy from time alone.
Ambiverts are right in the middle. If a pure introvert was a 0 and a pure extravert was 100 on a sliding scale, ambiverts hover right in the middle. We do not fit nicely into either camp. We are introverted extraverts and extraverted introverts. One could say this makes us versatile. However, sometimes, it makes us exhausted.
To better understand those in this energetic middle ground, here are a few ambivert ambitions and confessions:
We approach networking events carefully. We go with a friend or promise ourselves that after a certain number of contacts or minutes, we can stop.
After being the life of the party, all we want to do is lock ourselves in our office to decompress. Lights may be off and our status set to “do not disturb.” This does not make us two-faced; it makes us human – ones that invest in self-care.
We love “people” people. They make us feel alive and motivate us to run on all cylinders. Full speed ahead. We will just need a pitstop before they do.
At the same time, we can easily adapt, read and draw the best out of introverts. Our disposition is approachable to them unlike extroverts that can be too high strung.
Somedays I wish I was an extrovert. I want to run with the “big dogs.”
Somedays I wish I was an introvert…because people are just too much and the “protection” of a label would be nice. That way I would not feel like a second fiddle to natural extroverts.
Do not expect us to be lukewarm or unpredictable. We simply match our behavior to the situation.
I am chasing authenticity, resilience and success just like you. These may look different between us. More than three options exist…over 100 do.
To the Point
Appreciate the ambiverts in your life.
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