While people are quick to leave blanket statements such as “everyone is an ambivert”, what they do when they say this is ignore an important debate in differences in temperament, thinking, and consciousness. Obviously, everyone is different, and we all work differently. We all perceive the world in different ways. The introvert and extrovert labels may be full of stereotypes and limiting ideas, but there are still differences, so what are these differences? Just because the issue is complicated, does not mean we should avoid it altogether.
My aim is to discuss introversion and extroversion in such a way that it explains every possible way an introvert may develop. I want to cover all the different philosophies, variations, and levels an introvert can develop in. I want to discuss what happens when an introvert extraverts, and when an extrovert introverts. Hopefully, by doing this, I can show that introversion and extroversion are two unique, distinct concepts. When people talk about everyone as ambiverts, they focus on overlaps between introverts and extroverts, similarities that all humans share.
While everyone is different, we also have thoughts and experiences that are shared with all humans. Such as wanting to be loved, needing to eat, wanting rest, wanting to live and see the world. In my coming book, I hope to tie all the knots together, giving us the ability to see the many variations of introverts and extroverts and the true differences between the types.
Excerpts from the book…
If the introvert is a plow in the objective world, the extrovert is a sponge. What the introvert pushes away while moving forward, the extrovert sucks up. The healthy extrovert attracts – information – possibilities – opportunities – people – status – recognition. The outgoing introvert subtracts, prioritises, and focuses on what is important to the inner experience, theory, vision, or history.
Similarly, the more private extrovert subtracts theories, experiences, visions, and histories, finding the most situationally relevant and important parts of them, while the introvert is constantly building up and adding on new theories, new visions, and new memories, building big inner systems – complex, intricate maps to navigate life with.
The difference in interest here is clear: to the introvert, your inner world is your mental palace or your garden of peace. To the extrovert, the inner world is an unruly sea. And to the introvert, the outer world is a windy storm, where to the extrovert, the outer world is a peaceful beach. Outgoing introverts here, are storm surfers. They clean up the surface and get rid of what is unnecessary, keeping only the most important things. Private extroverts are the deep sea divers, the seers.
They find the core most important thoughts, memories, and insights, and leave the others on the bottom of the ocean. The goal is to light up the depths and to bring relevant information to the surface. And while introverts and extroverts may resemble each others, what is happening on the conscious level is very different. To simply call everyone an ambivert and leave it at that… That is to miss the chance to learn something about yourself.
