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Believe it or not—I AM an introvert!

It’s a comfortable 68ºF this fine Saint Paul morning on my back porch as I am enjoying my mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee (as is necessary to get my brain firing on all remaining synapses)!

Yes—you read the title correctly—I am an introvert. At times, painfully so. This is probably why I never went into direct sales as a career. Maybe “introvert” is too strong a word—“shy” is a softer version of introvert.

Meeting people for the first time has always been stressful for me, but for the most part, I was able to overcome my natural shyness when it was necessary. Since my (mild) stroke of a couple of years ago—leaving me with difficulty speaking the words my brain commands—meeting people is even more difficult. My ability to speak is inversely proportional to the level of stress I’m experiencing (in other word, meeting people leaves me speechless!).

Blogging allows me to meet & get to know people without losing my ability to speak—cool. So I will continue to hide behind my keyboard and meet new friends.

BTW: thanks to all who visited “Our Saint Paul” on Monday, and especially to those who went a little further into cyber-space and visited (Medford) Ambrose’s new “Fisher’s The ramblings of a predigital curmudgeon”! Another shot of Self-Promotion!

Jay

Posted by Jay Merton & Medford Ambrose, the Codgers on 07/17/2007 05:49 AM

Comments (19)

reflections from my back porch

Originally posted at: The New Codgers: Believe it or not—I AM an introvert!

19 Comments on Believe it or not—I AM an introvert!

JUL

2007

Sure, you're an introvert.

When you meet new people and you're nervous aren't you suppose to imagine they're in their underwear or something?

Peep: Then I laugh too hard to speak!

Jay

I have this real dippy friend that always asks "So, what's the secret to your marriage?" lol Maybe you can try something like that or "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a toosie pop?"

Well I enjoy reading your posts and always look forward to the next graphic you will be using, it is like you are creating your own town and villagers in addition to the posts. It is a great angle.

Jay, introverts are amongst the coolest, most interesting people I know. The majority of my family are introverts and yet, when we get together, there is more talking going on than when I am with a bunch of extroverts ! One thing about introverts, they LOVE deep, meaningful conversations and hence most of my closest friends are also introverts.

I hope you have the kind of day that is just perfect for you,

Jay,

Maybe I'm wornd but you sound like you would warm up to people pretty quickly after meeting them.

Jay ~ you have certainly caught the blog bug! I agree it is an easier way to communicate, there's time to think and ponder (perhaps deleter) before pushing the submit button.

Talking is totally over rated.

I'm shy, too. I completely understand. (But I'm brave behind a keyboard!)

Blogging is probably excellent therapy after a stroke, and good for the soul as well.

I thought you gave up on the organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee? I can't function without it.

Ambrose has a lot going on over there in cyberworld...I didn't comment cuz I was too shy. ;)

I'm glad you found the world of blogging and AR Jay! I really enjoy your shyness!

Jay, meeting new people and knowing what to say is not always easy even for those of us who are not introverts. It has always been a work in progress for me :)

By the way please remind be to wear clean underwear if I ever get to meet Chris :)

Aw you discovered one of my secrets. Use the written word. I'm not an introvert, but I have found that memo, letters, e-mail, blogs, etc. are wonderful forms of expression and the best part of all is, you can make a statement, express and opinion to your hearts content - - and

folks can't talk back.

Peep: I would be unable to spit out the line on command! That’s the way this thing works.

Linda: With the disbanding of the “Codgers” went the forays into our corner of cyberspace—if demand for cyber-adventures presents itself, I may reconsider.

Jo: I have any number of acquaintances, but only a very few, very close friends.

Neal: I don’t do well with the “Hale-fellow-well-met” people. Then again, they don’t do well with me. But in answer to your supposition—yes I do.

kk: With my circle of close friends and family, my speech is virtually without hesitation or stutter. With the written word one must be very careful with word choice, so as not to be misunderstood. “;-)” icons are most useful.

Bob: Shy my ---! Ambrose is having difficulty dealing with the instant comments he’s received so far!

Lysa: I'm crushed, crushed, I tell you! I thought it was because of my dashing handsomeness! (not to mention the magnesium training wheels on my Honda 50).

George: True.

Lenn: When I was a manager, I preferred face to face conversations (shyness disappears for me in professional circumstances), followed up by written communications. Few people have the knack for writing in such a way that their tone is clear—there are no voice inflections or facial expressions to moderate what is written. My writings here on AR have been misunderstood occasionally. You communicate well with written word, in my opinion.

Jay

I enjoy your subtle self promotion. (unlike one of those gigantic, subscribe to my blog buttons that I've seen around here.)

George - I am not an introvert and still, I do not do well on first meetings. I'd rather sit back and watch people first. You can learn a whole lot more that way! You are right, the written word can often be misunderstood.

Linda: You just accused me of being subtle. THAT was subtle? I thought I was being blatant! I'll do better next time, I promise.

Paula: After reading the definition of introvert, I decided shy was closer to the truth, and you just described how I genreally approach meeting people.

Jay