Are You Stuck in the Inertia of Introversion?

It’s not always easy reaching out to loved ones but these 3 steps can help introverts get unstuck.

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In the pre-social media days of childhood, I spent oodles of time happily and unhappily alone.

I’d beg my mom to drive me to the library, where I giddily perused shelf after shelf of YA and classic fiction. I pored over each title and inside book cover with a fine-toothed comb.

By the time I was done, all you could see were my big almond-shaped eyes peeking above the stack of books in my arms.

Reading liberated me from shyness. Traveling through the wardrobe into Narnia was escaping to adventure. Attending The Babysitter’s Club meetings felt like belonging to a tight clique of girls who finally understood me.

Fortunately, the last vestiges of a wild, late 90's New York City were the perfect mix of freedom and opportunity for an 18-year-old college freshman looking to break loose from her prison of shyness.

My social life flourished. But a new, introvert specific problem took root.

I guarded my alone time, socializing only with the few friends with whom I could already be myself.