Loners of the world, unite!

We don't come with manuals, so here's one if you don't know how to care for your introvert. Though if you are reading this, who knows, maybe you are one yourself.

I resisted the "introvert" label for a long time, because I do actually like people, I just find it hard to interact with them in groups unless I know them very well. Sometimes I try to fit in better by trying to "turn up the volume" on my chit-chat game. Hilarity ensues. Not. Lately I have come to terms with the fact that I am a bit of a lost cause when it comes to being gregarious around strangers (something that is pseudoscientifically proven). Ironically, I think this improves my schmooze-fu somewhat because I'm not trying so hard all the time.

Jonathan Rauch is talking about his own condition here, but he might as well be giving me my diagnosis. Kevin Drum too, felt a chord was struck. Emphasis mine:

It's chit-chat. I have no gift for that. I have to think about what to say next, and sometimes I can't think fast enough and end up saying something stupid. Or sometimes I just come up dry and the conversation kind of ends for while until I can think of another topic. This is why it's work for me. It takes positive cognition on my part. I think that's probably a core introvert characteristic that you and I have in common and which can probably be distinguished from shyness per se—that small talk takes conscious effort and is very hard work. There's nothing small about small talk if you're an introvert.

Rauch is ready to rumble. Albeit jokingly, he is talking about a Introverts' rights movement. I wish him and other fellow introverts luck in making the world a more introvert-friendly place.