introvert or extrovert?

 When I first watched Waiting for Godot, I couldn't help but think of that "my last two brain cells meme"...

mood when watching Waiting for Godot

Ok, I mean, my last two brain cells are certainly not taking on the persona of two middle aged men complaining about their prostate and such but...they're definitely doing just as absurd. 

Despite Didi being the "brainy" one and Gogo being the "impulsive" one, they somehow both manage to be equally ridiculous. And yet, it's that idea of "two-sidenedness" that makes Waiting for Godot interesting for me. Didi is supposed to represent the human mind - our intelligence and will - while Gogo can be interpreted to be the human heart (or stomach) - the one that seeks pleasure and avoids pain at all costs.

I find this balance interesting because as people, we all fall somewhere on the spectrum between our head and our heart - whether we're more logical or more emotional, no one is 100% on each side. But when that balance is removed, it becomes comical, frustrating, and of course, absurd. 

Which got me thinking...beyond the physical - what are some other opposite sides in humanity, that if the balance was removed, would result in absolute chaos? 

Ah yes, the classic introvert v. extrovert debacle. To some extent, I've always been interested in this topic - the balance between introversion and extraversion, partly because of my weird love for taking all the personality tests known to man. 

But recently, this topic has been even more on my mind - especially when considering roommates for college, it seems that people identify themselves upfront in their bios as either an introvert, extrovert, or more rarely, an ambivert. And for good reason - after all, our living habits are influenced by whether or not we draw energy from solitude or people. And yet, as much as we identify ourselves with one of these labels, the truth is none of us are fully introverted or extrovert, no matter how strongly we feel about either. 

In fact, Carl Jung, famous psychiatrist, once said this: 

I think this is important, because when we understand that no one of us is 100% extrovert or introvert, we acknowledge the need for both. Too often, in our world, we glorify extroversion unfairly over introversion - even going so far as to stigmatize introverts as shy or antisocial. And I say this as a staunch ambivert (perhaps a somewhat neutral party in this whole debacle). After all, extroverts are the one mostly like to outwardly express - more likely to be seen as engaging, charismatic, or popular because they're naturally more talkative and like to get to know more people. And in a world where connections are king, it's easy to make the false judgement that extroverts, by virtue, are more successful. And yet, this type of judgement is only superficial - we are not measured by our connections, but even if we were, this type of superficial evaluation ignores the fact that depth of connection matters, and in this arena, introverts overall fair better with fewer, but closer friends. 

When we understand the balance between these two sides, we're able to appreciate each one more fully. I'm able to savor the deep one-on-one talks with my introvert friends and also enjoy the outspoken openness and humor of my extrovert friends. There is more beauty in a world with balance.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a bajillion more personality tests...