I'm pretty sure I'm an extrovert. I just think I really stink at it.
No, seriously. I'm the kind of extrovert who got checkmarks and detentions for talking in class, and now chews the fat with everyone who crosses my path, then wonders where the work day went.
But I'm not the kind of extrovert who blasts out to "Business After Hours" events to make valuable connections, or strikes up that grocery store conversation that sets an exciting new project in motion. I can chat it up a bit with the other parents at my kids' sports games, but nothing ever really comes of it. We all just fold up our chairs and fight to jam them back in that stupid, evil bag they came in, wave a cheery goodbye, and go home. At least, that's what happens for me.
And yet, I pull out of the parking lot with the vague sense that others are leaving with plans for a neighborhood book club, or a movement to raise funds for the village parks and rec program... or, geesh, at least a play date for their kid.
I've been thinking lately that by age 45, a really good extrovert would be using this trait to her advantage. I'm not expecting the world -- I mean, I've come to terms with the fact that I can't do the business networking events, for two reasons.
The first is, they bring back traumatic memories of standing by the punch bowl, chatting with the chaperone at a junior high dance while the cool kids were groping and sweating in the dark to Bon Jovi. The second is, you have to juggle a drink and a plate of light appetizers, try to partake of one or the other without dropping either, hold an intelligent conversation, and look like you're not desperate to bolt from the room. God endowed me with a small collection of abilities, and this would not be one of them. I'm okay with that.
I am blessed to be a mom, I have a home that I love, and I feel like I won the lottery with my family, friends and church family. And yet, it recently dawned on me that the major components of my life seem to be work, shifting dirt around my house, ordering takeout for my kids, and watching obsessively DVRed episodes of "Intervention" and "Extreme Clutter." This is not a constructive lifestyle.
So, I'm sharing it first here. I've made a new commitment to mixing it up. Putting myself out there. Throwing caution to the wind. My social interaction will go beyond Facebook, durnit.
Lunch will be more often in a restaurant with a friend, and less often standing at my kitchen counter with a spoon and a carton of lowfat Breyers. I'm committing to that weekly prayer group I've talked about joining for the better part of a year. I'll have a purposeful conversation with someone in line at the grocery store and slip them my business card with a promise to give them a call this week.
Wait. I don't have a business card. But hey, I did finally put my profile up on LinkedIn, after 20-plus years in the business world. It's all about baby steps...
No, seriously. I'm the kind of extrovert who got checkmarks and detentions for talking in class, and now chews the fat with everyone who crosses my path, then wonders where the work day went.
But I'm not the kind of extrovert who blasts out to "Business After Hours" events to make valuable connections, or strikes up that grocery store conversation that sets an exciting new project in motion. I can chat it up a bit with the other parents at my kids' sports games, but nothing ever really comes of it. We all just fold up our chairs and fight to jam them back in that stupid, evil bag they came in, wave a cheery goodbye, and go home. At least, that's what happens for me.
And yet, I pull out of the parking lot with the vague sense that others are leaving with plans for a neighborhood book club, or a movement to raise funds for the village parks and rec program... or, geesh, at least a play date for their kid.
I've been thinking lately that by age 45, a really good extrovert would be using this trait to her advantage. I'm not expecting the world -- I mean, I've come to terms with the fact that I can't do the business networking events, for two reasons.
The first is, they bring back traumatic memories of standing by the punch bowl, chatting with the chaperone at a junior high dance while the cool kids were groping and sweating in the dark to Bon Jovi. The second is, you have to juggle a drink and a plate of light appetizers, try to partake of one or the other without dropping either, hold an intelligent conversation, and look like you're not desperate to bolt from the room. God endowed me with a small collection of abilities, and this would not be one of them. I'm okay with that.
I am blessed to be a mom, I have a home that I love, and I feel like I won the lottery with my family, friends and church family. And yet, it recently dawned on me that the major components of my life seem to be work, shifting dirt around my house, ordering takeout for my kids, and watching obsessively DVRed episodes of "Intervention" and "Extreme Clutter." This is not a constructive lifestyle.
So, I'm sharing it first here. I've made a new commitment to mixing it up. Putting myself out there. Throwing caution to the wind. My social interaction will go beyond Facebook, durnit.
Lunch will be more often in a restaurant with a friend, and less often standing at my kitchen counter with a spoon and a carton of lowfat Breyers. I'm committing to that weekly prayer group I've talked about joining for the better part of a year. I'll have a purposeful conversation with someone in line at the grocery store and slip them my business card with a promise to give them a call this week.
Wait. I don't have a business card. But hey, I did finally put my profile up on LinkedIn, after 20-plus years in the business world. It's all about baby steps...
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