Can introverts be enthusiasts? Yes, yes they can
Over the years, I’ve flitted between calling myself an extrovert and an introvert. Sure, my absolute favourite way to spend my time is spending it with loved ones, and I love people, drawing a lot of my energy from them (in the good way, not the bad way…I hope.) But I also get easily overwhelmed – something which has only been made worse by the pandemic – and need moments of peace and solitude to recharge.
On paper, aka according to my Myers-Brigg personality type, I’m an extrovert. I’m also, according to the 16 personalities website, the same type of personality as Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Malala, which is a club I’m happy to be part of. But back in my actual real life, I look at my friend’s husband, who is as stereotypical an extrovert as one can be, and am equal parts admiring of and exhausted by his slammed social schedule, his constant commitment to, well, commitments, and his exponential outings and engagements. That’s not how life looks for me.
And it would seem I’m not the only one. According to Adam Grant, about ⅔ of people identify as ‘ambiverts’, which is a blend of the both. This makes sense, because the scale of extroversion and introversion is exactly that: a scale. This also mirrors my (highly scientific) findings, when I posted about extroversion and enthusiasm on instagram last year: I had so many conversations with people in my DMs about which they were, what if they were neither, what if they were both?
Photo by Elena Koycheva
The point of my post, however, had been this: that introverts can be enthusiasts, too. So much of the conversation around trying to define the amorphous identities that are extro- and introversion labels extroverts as having enthusiasm or being enthusiastic, and therefore, on the flipside, introverts having less (or even none at all). But I think this rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of enthusiasm, one which in turn rests on a cyclical definition.
So many people see enthusiasm as this big, showy display of dedication and affection, but that’s not the full picture. That’s actually only one half of it, the extroverted half. In contrast, if you’re an introvert, you’re likely to show your enthusiasm in different ways: ways that are less outwards-facing, and less visible, perhaps, but no less real or valid.
In reality, enthusiasm is measured by intensity of interest and feeling. And though it might seem the easiest way to quantify it, we can’t and shouldn’t limit that to just outward intensity; it has to account for inward intensity too. Just because you don’t look happy doesn’t mean you’re not (Gizza smile, love?) and just because you’re not bouncing off the walls doesn’t mean you’re not enthusiastic.
Though we seem to have this internalised belief that all enthusiasts must be extroverts, at the expense of all introverts, you and I know that this is rubbish. Just think of it this way: we’ve swapped out ‘geek’ or ‘nerd’, a character often portrayed as a lone figure, for ‘enthusiast’ for years without any trouble, haven’t we? Nobody’s doubting a train-spotting enthusiast’s passion when they’re sitting alone on a platform at a frosty 6am. And so it should be that you shouldn’t doubt your own.
So, all of that to say: yes you can be an introvert and be an enthusiast at the same time. And if you are - hello and welcome! I think you’ll be very happy here.
top photo from by RF._.studio