Understanding the Introvert

Hi. My name is Joshua and I’m an introvert.

If you’d like to understand a little bit of what that means and how being an introvert affects everything, you should read Caring for Your Introvert: The habits and needs of a little-understood group and the follow-up interview with the author. Jason Kottke also does a great job here of quickly encasulating how I feel about the way internet communication has helped me deal with my introvertedness.

And if you’re reading this thinking about what personality type I might be (because some people I know think that we should have Myers Briggs test results printed on business cards to hand people when we meet them) i’m Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving. You can read up on INTP behavior here and here. It’s borderline frightening to read through the INTP descriptions and have so many “YES! That’s totally me!” realizations.

“INTPs are pensive, analytical folks. They may venture so deeply into thought as to seem detached…” Check.

“A major concern for INTPs is the haunting sense of impending failure.” Check. 

“They seek clarity in everything, and are therefore driven to build knowledge.” Check.

“[They] are not naturally well-equiped to meet the emotional needs of others.” Check.

“They usually have complex characters, and may tend to be restless…” Check.

That’s me alright.