Are You An Ambivert?
What is it and why it's important to know.
“Are you an introvert or extrovert?”
Most of us have received this question or at least contemplated it. Great naval gazing fodder for those who don’t have a yes or no answer!
I love solitude. And my batteries recharge after spending time with [the correct type1 of] people. I have always been ill-at-ease in answering this seemingly innocuous question! I laugh as I write that sentence.
I was conversing about this with a team-building executive who was hired by our company. She interrupted my story of rarely fitting into boxes and how I’m always in between designations—Ambivert.
My monologue abruptly halted. I was left registering the interruption, then the presence of a new word. I contemplated the opening of a new door of self understanding. She watched me with calculating intent, waiting for the moment my gears ceased churning—It’s when a person is half introvert and half extrovert. Actually, a lot of people are ambiverts, but it’s not a well-known topic.
I asked ChatGPT via Duck.AI to define ambivert for me:
“An ambivert is a person who exhibits qualities of both introversion and extraversion. This means they can enjoy social interactions and large gatherings (like an extravert) but also value solitude and need time alone to recharge (like an introvert). Ambiverts are adaptable in social situations and may shift between being outgoing and reserved, depending on their mood, the context, or the people around them.
This flexibility allows ambiverts to thrive in a variety of environments and connect with different personality types.”
Yes, that is me! I loved the validation that came with this new knowledge. And for any newly realized ambiverts2–stoked for you too! :-)
How to utilize this newfound utopia of validated existence? The biggest thing for me was the exhale of knowing there’s a category I fit into. From that anchor point3 I can balance life’s elements in a healthier way that keeps me fulfilled and able to sustain in the long run.
For example, I have built my career around 80% remote work and 20% in office work. I have found that mix of isolation and direct human contact to be very beneficial for me and allows me to sustain through stressful jobs! In one professional chapter, I flew into our headquarters quarterly for one week. We would brainstorm and strategize with our teams, setting roadmaps for the rest of the quarter and updating annual plans. In a different chapter, I would go to the office every Friday for weekly sales wrap-up and planning for next weeks’ calls. Those were very different professional cadences, but they both worked well for me because the ratio of solitude and in-person activity was sustainable for me. Knowing I was an ambivert helped me look at my needs from a “I need a little bit of this and bigger bit of that” perspective.
Other areas to consider: social dynamics, personal growth, and mental health. Knowing how to balance social (extraverted, engaging) activities and solitary (introverted, quiet) activities in a ratio that sustains you is paramount to a happy life–at least that’s been my experience.
I might create a course on creating a balanced life through the ambivert lens. Click hereto join the wait list.
Leave me a note in the comments if you’d like me to write more about this.
I think categories are healthy and helpful, if used correctly. It’s important to do one’s own research before ascribing oneself to a category: internet, AI, friends, professionals. If used incorrectly , categories can be limiting and cause a lot of undue stress and anxieties. ‘Categories’ are synonymous with: boxes, labels, identifiers. If you would like me to write about healthy vs. unhealthy use of categories, leave me a note in the comments.
The final category to the introvert, extrovert, ambivert series of categories, is omnivert. It’s essentially an ambivert with a higher intensity shifting between the needs of extroversion and introversion. If you find yourself in a given moment enjoying the social environment, and suddenly experience the need for solitude, this may be you.
Thanks for illuminating this way of identifying and validating a core aspect of self. Just like I'm more ambidextrous than 'only' left-handed, I feel I am more of an "ambi-omni" as I age and have more self-awareness. Voilá! Another category is created--"ambi-omni vert". hmmmm. Maybe us lefties are more inclined to being "more than one", since we have adapted to a right-hand dominant culture? Just a thought.
From the time I began studying cultural anthropology, I've resisted typologies which imply, "If you're not this, then you're that", especially categories that my not hold water in a variety of cultural settings, or that give power to one group over another. Thanks for the chance to deepen the exploration of culture and personalty (as it used to be called anyway). Ambidextrously yours... K
Thanks for the new descriptor. It will be easier to roll off the tongue when explaining my inner workings to peeps than saying "I'm an extraverted introvert"
Im happy being this way. It allows me to regard perspective in a healthier fashion. As an example I might come out the chute (if I was an extravert), guns blazing, in a response to something.... but the ambivertism of my true nature, allows the introvert function to keep a tighter grip on my reins & respond in a more matter of fact manner.
Good piece...well written!