Funny, or perhaps not-so-funny, that everyone who commented, both on and off the blog, self identified as introverts. Hmmmm, maybe I don’t know any extroverts or maybe they’re all busy doing shit! Unlike the rest of us who have copious amounts of time to surf the net and read each others blogs!

Kat — definitely pegged you as a innie. But what about Big Drew? Innie or Outie? I put him right in the middle, maybe even a hair over on the outie side.

Rich — agree with your comment about Myers-Briggs. Heard that one can even take the test multiple times successively and come up with different results. Neither here nor there, it is a fun tool and a fun test to do with a partner. What’s OTT?

Joyous — yup, had you pegged just on the other side of outie.

Xhile — your answer surprised me, although I don’t know you that well. Now that I think of it, based on our few days together at Kiwiburn, I definitely can see how you’d be smack in the middle.

Massimo — innie definitely!

The last couple of times I’ve been slightly on teh extrovert side. At the moment i’m acting very introverted so i suspect it’s partly to do with what is happening in life for me.

Trouble is, I don’t want to be, so I overcompensate by making myself be social and outgoing. This mostly works well professionally – I’m a lot more forward than most IT geeks and I’ve done reasonably well in my career as a result. Socially, it’s a bit mixed because a lot of people find me annoyingly OTT. I think this is ok with people who’ve just met me and with those who’ve known me a long time and I can just chill out aound – it’s the middle group where there are issues.

Incdentally, I’m not sure if this is related, but I do happen to believe (and there is evidence of this) that personality tests like Myers-Briggs are pseudo-science.

Great post. I’d love to read that book. I’d say i’m an extreme innie, but i’ve certainly learned to enjoy the extroverted world. I’ve reached a point in my life where I realize that paying attention to my SELF is key. I’m really good knowing how much socializing I can handle and how to set boundaries.

I would encourage anyone to embrace their innie! It’s definitely not about shyness.

Don’t ever feel guilty or sad about being introverted. Just remember (like you said) you do need balance. It’s not an excuse to be a hermit and hide. Being an innie has made me a great listener…it involves a natural affinity to live in the moment, take deep breaths, and listen to the world.