The positive effects of acting in a more extraverted way, such as greater happiness and feeling less tired, depend on the level of extraversion we have.
Extraversion is associated with such benefits as being:
- outgoing
- sociable
- cheerful
- able to relate well to others
This often leads people to encourage introverts to behave in a more extraverted way. However, it may be that introverts are perfectly happy to let others shine at social gatherings. Very often it is people around them who push introverts into becoming more outgoing. They claim it is good for social life. The quiet behaviour of introverts leads others to believe they are unhappy, so they try to help. The question is whether introverts wish to possess these traits. They might well prefer simply to remain in the background because that is what best suits them.
Real introverts may not react to encouragement
An article on the psychologytoday.com website claims that being instructed to act in a different manner than you naturally incline to may not make you happier. So if someone is telling an introvert they should behave in a more extraverted way when other people are around, this is not necessarily helpful. True, it is a step outside the comfort zone but it doesn’t always make the person feel happier.
For people high in introversion, the happiness stemming from more extraverted behaviour towards others doesn’t really apply. Introverts may feel better after expressing extraverted behaviour in a natural manner. If, however, they are expected to display such behaviour for a longer period of time, it can have the opposite effect. Furthermore, simply being happier may not be of the utmost importance to all introverts.
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