Miina Matsuoka lives by herself in New York City. She owns two cats and routinely screens her calls. But before you jump to conclusions, note that she is comfortable hobnobbing in any of five languages for her job as business manager at an international lighting-design firm. She just strongly prefers not to socialize, opting instead for long baths, DVDs, and immersion in her art projects. She does have good, close friends, and goes dancing about once a month, but afterward feels a strong need to “hide and recoup.” In our society, where extroverts make up three-quarters of the population, loners (except Henry David Thoreau) are pegged as creepy or pathetic. But soloists like Matsuoka can function just fine in the world—they simply prefer traveling through their own interior universe.

Read the rest of this article from Psychology Today.

One of the things I love about the Internet, and blogging in particular, is that gives those of us who are introverts an opportunity to “stand up and shout out” to the world what we are all about - something we are, by nature, not likely to do in the physical world.

I have recently come across some blog posts by other introverts who capture very nicely what introversion is - and what it isn’t. Check them out!

Tiny Boxes: Introvert

Coloring Outside the Lines: Celebrate Introverts

Queenheroical: this introvert’s responsibility

Read, enjoy, and if you’ve also blogged about introversion, please do leave a comment with a link!

A recent article at TwinCities.com, Physical activity should be a priority, explains the importance of choosing a form of exercise suited to your personality. For example, he suggests that an introvert may prefer solitary pursuits such as jogging or swimming over group activities.

Although I agree with what he says in principle, I find it difficult to engage in any kind of physical activity by myself. I have recently started walking three mornings per week, with one (and sometimes two) other women. It works well for me because I feel accountable to someone else. If I was walking alone, it would be too easy to say “not today” and to either stay in bed a little longer or start work a little earlier. I took yoga classes for about three years and enjoyed that very much. However, even though a class is a group activity, doing yoga is very much an individual one, and that may be why it appealed to me. But again, because the class was scheduled for a particular time, and because I’d paid for it in advance, I felt compelled to go, even if I sometimes would have preferred to stay at home. I have tried doing yoga at home by myself and I just couldn’t get into it the same way.

I would love to hear from other introverts about this topic - what works for you?