With apologies to any of my GLBT friends...I'm coming out of the personality closet and claiming my true identity...
Hi, I'm Patti, I'm 34 years old, and I'm an extravert.
I've always claimed to be an introvert for two reasons: first, I'm fairly shy and quiet in new situations, second, I've always shown up as an introvert on personality profiles. Therefore, I accepted that I was an introvert, and functioned accordingly.
However, I've been doing some self-examining recently, and I realized a few things (Side note: keep in mind that the definition of an introvert is someone who gains energy from being alone, while an extravert gains energy from being with others). First, I love being with people, meeting new people, and conversing with people. I may be kind of shy and quiet at first, but that has more to do with self-confidence (and a lack thereof) than desire. Second, I've found that I become excited and energized after interacting with people. I am happiest when I have a chance to interact with people (besides my family) on a regular basis. I was lonely while serving St. John's because I felt so isolated and had to seek out other people. I love hospital ministry or the thought of doing ministry in a larger congregation because there are people around me with whom I can interact.
So, I did an experiment that lasted a few weeks. First, I paid close attention to how I felt before and after interacting with a lot of people, especially on Sunday mornings. On March 13, I was the liturgist for the 8:15 service, attended Sunday School, and then went to the 11:00 service. On the way home, my emotional energy level was higher than it had been four hours prior. The big test was this weekend, when I had an all-day Church Council retreat on Saturday and another long morning on Sunday (I was again the liturgist for 8:15). A lot of interaction with people, including some heavy discussions. I felt intellectually tired at the end of Saturday's retreat, but my energy level was still high. Ditto for Sunday morning. That sealed the deal for me.
So, I'm an extravert. Or, at the very least, a borderline extravert/introvert. It's pretty amazing to realize something like that when you're in your mid-thirties. But I think it will help to inform my future ministry, and how I function in ministry.
1 comment:
I have always scored as an introvert and felt like one too. But parish ministry has brought out some extrovert characteristics of my nature. Now I score as a borderline intro/extrovert...I get energerized from my interactions with people but I before long I crash and need to spend time as an introvert to reeecharge....so, sounds like you are the same. It's kind of fun, actually.
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