MBTI Trial Week 1: Extraversion
October 7th, 2008
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In week 1 of my Myers-Briggs trials, I’ll be focusing on extraversion.
The key difference between introverts and extraverts is where they get their energy: from themselves, or from others. If you imagine that each person is powered by a battery, an introvert charges their battery when they’re alone, and drains it when they’re with others. For extraverts, it’s the other way around.
As king of the introverts, this trial would normally be very difficult for me because I often use up my whole battery at work. After I get home, it’s a struggle to seek out more socialization. It’s nothing against anyone personally, but that’s just how introverts work; they need their alone time.
This was a shame because I used up my whole battery on people that I didn’t necessarily want to use it for, and then people I did want to use it for were greeted with my dead battery. Fortunately, I’m on a mini-retirement now, which will make this much easier.
I have a wedding to go to this weekend, so that will provide plenty of opportunities for extraversion. Other than that, I plan to spend much more time with people in person and on the phone. I’ll also practice vocalizing my thoughts before I have time to finish them, doing my thinking out loud. And Twitter will provide a good outlet for small talk.
I can’t go completely extraverted because I still need to read stuff, etc. But the point is to make a significant effort to act far more extraverted than usual. I’ve already done one day of this, but I’ll save my thoughts for the end of the week. Go extraverts!
October 7th, 2008 at 1:48 am
This will be interesting…. go Hunter! May your interverted and extraverted self live happily ever after
Davinas last blog post..Creative Luny Landing In The Sand
October 7th, 2008 at 2:46 am
You better be careful Hunter. You may catch the garter and meet the gal that catches the bouquet and do something silly like propose marriage.
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October 7th, 2008 at 3:19 am
I’m looking forward to the results of this, Hunter.
I really don’t know whether I’m an introvert or an extrovert. I tend to get most of my energy when I’m around others (I’m a poor comedian, but I love to try and make people laugh).
However, I do find I often need my own space and living at home with a brother and parent, I often find it difficult after a day of quiet and peaceful work when they both come home from their jobs and suddenly the house is noisy.
I think I’ll truly find out whether I’m an introvert or an extrovert when I move out (soon!). I think I’m more extrovert, but I do seem to have a mix in me.
Jamie
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October 7th, 2008 at 6:49 am
I used to think I was a big time extravert. (BTW, I thought it was extrovert, which it is! But extravert is a variant of extrovert. I learned something today. I can go home now.) But I now realize that most of my time, in my early days as a child and then stay at home mom, was spent alone. So, when I was out interacting with people I was totally stoked. Now that I have a steady 9-5 job, I am realizing more and more that I am an intravert (introvert!). I go home totally drained, and find a quiet corner to curl up in. I have very little desire to interact with people outside of work hours. There must be a happy medium (as opposed to joyful psychic). Perhaps you will find that with your experiment. This will be an interesting series.
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October 7th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Hunter,
My experience has been that people are usually not 100% intro- or extavert. It usually involves a right balance of the two.
Using me as an example, I am an introvert, for sure — except if I spend too much time being alone, my alone time would stop charging my battery after a certain point. I miss talking to people then. The flip is certainly true as well.
I’d say I would rate my extra/intro rate at 20/80. So I’m still pretty introverted.
And incidentally, I am an INFJ, but I fall pretty close to the middle in the three remaining spectra.
ari
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October 7th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I like the explanation on the difference between introverts and extroverts. As an introvert myself, I am in need of my own sacred space to recharge. I am far more effective in helping others when I am allowed time alone first. The more I nurture myself, the better I become with others. However, as I do have a lot of friends who are extraverts, I know that the reverse is true.
Have a nice time this weekend!! Barbara’s comments are so funny!! Then again, you may just never know!
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October 7th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Ah, I think of the 64-pack of crayons when I was a girl… That’s how many batteries I need… LOL! I get drained all the time.
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October 7th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
I would guess that most bloggers and blog readers are introverts — extraverts tend to head more towards sports and other group activities. For myself, I’m both an introvert and I have fibromyalgia, an illness which causes me to be easily overstimulated by too much noise, too much to look at, or too many things going on at once. So I definitely need my alone time to recover and recharge.
However, over the years I’ve come out of my shell and learned to enjoy being in groups and socializing, even though it tires me, so I would guess I’m not as far on the scale as I used to be. I do find I’m less tired by congenial groups than by other kinds of groups, like strangers or groups at work.
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October 7th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
@ Davina, I didn’t think of them as separate selves, but now I wonder if it will be like Jekyll and Hyde!
@ Barbara, I guess that’s a risk I have to take, in the name of science!
@ Jamie, we all have some of both in us, and many people are near the middle. Some people are so close they have a hard time deciding what they are. As you said, you’ll learn more when you move out.
@ Urban, the extrovert/extravert discussion seems to never go away for long. Yes, both as acceptable variants in English, though extrovert is more common. However, they spell it as “extravert” (from the German) in all the MBTI literature, so that’s the right way to spell it when talking about the MBTI. Fortunately, they didn’t choose to spell it “xhorsdhrouon,” because then that would be the correct spelling!
I guess we find out where our happy medium is when we step over the line. I’ll certainly be doing that, so it will be interesting to see what happens!
@ Ari, I think it’s impossible to be 100% either way. In fact, if your dominant function is introverted, your auxiliary function will be extraverted, and vice versa. We all need some of both.
@ Evelyn, if you serve as a battery for your friends, it’s for the good of all that you recharge when you need to!
@ VeRonda, we all need different amounts of charging, but whatever you need, you need!
@ Dot, I agree that it definitely depends on what kind of people you’re with. I can find some conversations quite energizing, but small talk with strangers doesn’t fall into that category!
October 8th, 2008 at 6:02 am
As an INTP I am interested in seeing the results.
Chad @ sentient money´s last blog post..Debt and Santa Claus
October 8th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I love my extrovert experiences in life, but sooner or later, I get exhausted and need alone time. Good luck with your experiment!
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October 9th, 2008 at 11:54 am
@ Chad, always nice to know another INTP!
@ Stacey, oh sure, no one wants to be completely introverted all the time. This should be interesting as I test how much alone time I really need!
October 9th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Dude – I’m still struggling with the idea of you being at home all day and posting so often. This will be an interesting experiment. It’s nice to be around other people – but when you don’t have that re-charge time, it’s not so great.
When I go to weddings, I always make a point of taking a break in my room – even a half hour peace helps. Mind you, that went kind of wrong for me at one wedding. My room was in an outdoor sort of barn place and they’d actually painted the edges of the steps with gloss paint. Instead of half hour of piece – I wound up unconscious.
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October 9th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
@ Cath, so far, I haven’t posted more often. I did manage to get caught up on unread posts just now, and I unsubscribed from 10 blogs, which I hope will make the load manageable.
Since I’m home during the day, I have far more time to myself, even though I’m deliberately spending more time with people right now. There’s just a lot more time to go around.
Sorry to hear about your unconsciousness! Hope it didn’t hurt too much!
October 10th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Hunter,
You are a good guy to watch. Congrats on spending more time in your own space. I love it…and my world is much richer for it. Of course, according to MB I am split right down the middle. I am an extrovert for people and an introvert for me. I am amazed at those who need to go to a party to get charged – when I charge AFTER the party.
It’s fun to study and more fun to know we never quite fit in any box. The more aware we become of ourselves, the more room we have to surprise ourselves.
Thanks for your post. May I humbly make it to one one of RSS feeds someday?
Harmony´s last blog post..Small Business Squares off with Tough Economy
October 11th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
@ Harmony, I’ve never understood how people can get charged at a party either, but there’s a lot of those people out there! Now let’s see if I end up surprising myself with this experiment!