Part 9 of 23 Signs You’re Secretly an Introvert

9. When you get on the subway, you sit at the end of the bench -– not in the middle.

I do not ride any form of public transportation unless it is my only choice.  I’m not a germ-o-phobe at all, but it’s just so unclean!

Sure, I’m on edge when I have to ride a bus or subway or shuttle, but the main reason I stay away is the lack of control I have.  Ask my husband, yes, I am a control freak.  Comes with the bit of OCD I carry around with me.

It seems every time I’m forced into public transportation as a mode of travel, something happens.  Never fails.  Breaks down, is off-schedule by A LOT, someone at home needs me and I can’t get there…you name it.  I hate being completely helpless and out of control.

As far as where I sit goes, yes, it has to be on the end.  With transport, I prefer the front – probably because all I want is OUT.  Anywhere else, the back and on the end.  I don’t like people sitting behind me, I don’t like having to inconvenience people by leaving a row if I’m in the middle.  The downside is I’m highly annoyed by all the people who DO end up sitting in the middle who 1) arrive late and bother me by needing to sit in my row and 2) cannot make it through wherever we are without getting in and out of their seat a bunch of times.

Yes, I’m a bit of a stickler when it comes to performance etiquette.  Get there early and stay in your seat!  I paid good money, too, and it’s not to rise and fall by your presence in my row. 🙂

Wouldn’t it be great if all auditoriums and theaters had an aisle every four or 5 seats?!?

Image Credit:  IntrovertedProblems.tumblr.com

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Part 4 of 23 Signs You’re Secretly an Introvert

Was a busy day yesterday and by the end of it I was OUT!  Sorry for the lack of posts.

Back to our list…

4. Networking makes you feel like a phony.

Does. It. Ever.

I don’t like selling and I don’t like being sold to.  Sometimes the honesty that comes out of my mouth does more harm than good, but I never have to worry about keeping up a pretense about myself.  What can I say, I was raised to be honest!

I have had the opportunity to be a part of business networking before and thankfully the crack-of-dawn meetings never worked with my schedule.  I had kids to take care of and a husband who left for work at zero-dark-thirty anyway.

Just the thought of putting on that fake smile and trying to “sell” myself gave me the creeps.

At the time, I was a studio and wedding photographer.  I had a decent amount of business and to have a ton more would have destroyed me.  Taking the photos is the easy part – it’s the hours of processing and taking/filling orders that is the hard part.

I worked so hard that, in my mind, my work should sell itself.  Ordering consults with clients I didn’t know prior to their were agonizing for me because it was full of small talk.  And I had no desire to “sell.”  What I offered I had and I didn’t want to have to convince someone into buying.  I just wanted them to fall in love with the photos, as I had, and that be all.

I really wished I could have had a salesperson to do all of that for me, but I was barely making enough for mad money, let alone an employee with a salary and taxes and blech!  I was perfectly content behind the camera rather than in front of my business.

Networking in other situations is tough, but I force myself to do it and usually there are great icebreaker activities that force me to talk.  Different church retreats and workshops I attend do this often and it really helps me.  Otherwise I’d be just sitting quietly where I am and I’d be OK with that.

Being an introvert is exhausting.  I hope some extroverts out there are finding this blog and understanding a little more about their more withdrawn counterparts. 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Image Credit:  ArleenBradley.com

Part 1 of 23 Signs You’re Secretly an Introvert

I always knew I was NOT an outgoing person.  But I always thought I was just kind of shy or was so scarred by high school, I just felt uncomfortable in many different scenarios.  Until…

I have been coming across more and more of these personality articles on Facebook and this one really caught my eye.  It’s ME!

23 Signs You’re Secretly an Introvert

1. You find small talk incredibly cumbersome.

Why yes, yes I do.  Case in point, while shopping today at the mega-store I loathe, I must have looked at every open lane (all had only one other person in line, which was miraculous) to find the cashier that was least likely to talk to me.

Now, don’t get me wrong, ask anyone that knows me – once you get me talking, I’m good at the whole talking thing.  But put me in front of a stranger who is just trying to pass the time as he or she rings up my sale?  I feel my blood pressure rise, I get kind of annoyed and I just want to get the hell out of there!

Had I not had about four million items in my cart, I would have gone to the self-checkout.  Ah, aren’t those the BEST things in the stores now?

The things I do like in situations like those are if the stranger makes a comment about a shirt I’m wearing (that usually happens when I’m in my RUSH or Doctor Who shirts) or if I’m looking at something they also have an interest in.  Specificity and a common topic are key when talking with an introvert – otherwise we just seem like stuck up people.

So, if you should come across someone who is kind of reluctant to talk at first…keep that in mind.  They could just be awkward…or, sure, they could just be a snotty douche! Ha!  Give us awkward ones a second chance!

Image Credit: MichiganQuarterlyReview.com