Despite the terms “introvert” and “extrovert” being thrown around quite often, many people struggle to nail down what exactly they mean. Normally, it comes down to very reductive definitions, in which extroverts love being around other people and/or talking, while introverts are a sort of cave-dwelling aberration that is allergic to human contact. 

To set the record straight, it’s generally best to see it as a spectrum. A person, for example, might be more introverted than they are extroverted but possess traits from both. Broadly speaking, an introvert gets more of their gratification from their “inner life.” 

Often enough, this gets confused with shyness, leading many socially awkward people to self-diagnose themselves as introverts. While an introvert can also be shy, there doesn’t have to be a connection between the two. Shyness is a mental barrier, while a “true” introvert might simply not want to engage with another person (or group) in the first place. 

Indeed, all this focus on introverts, for example, the quite good and well-known book “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking,” by Susan Cain, creates a picture of a world where extroversion is the default and introverts are some anomaly. The truth is that both “groups” have existed since time immemorial and tend to coexist quite happily. 

It’s worth noting that, at least in the United States, anywhere between a third and half of all people are self-reported introverts. Because many people still assume that extroversion means enjoying spending time with other people and humans, as social animals do generally need to be around other people, there is a solid chance that many actual introverts indicate that they are extroverts. 

So if you are an introvert and also feeling down, just remember that it’s no barrier to success. Some studies indicate that, for example, the majority of attorneys are introverts. In some fields, this number is very high, for example up to 90% of intellectual property lawyers say that they would classify themselves as introverts.