How to Navigate Retirement as an Introvert
Retirement is heaven for introverts, right? Sometimes, not so much.
Before the pandemic, to hear everyone else tell it, we introverts were a sad lot. Loners. Recluses. Hermits.
Then along came Covid lockdowns. Suddenly, we were the ones with the in-demand survival skills! While our extrovert buddies developed drinking problems and joined online support groups, we thrived.
Honestly, I loved those first few weeks of Covid when many formerly outgoing extroverts wouldn’t go out of their homes. Morning dog walks without another soul — human or canine — in sight. Heaven.
Who is an introvert?
Who qualifies as an introvert?
Well, if during the pandemic you got oddly aroused by the words “social distancing,” you might be an introvert.
Seriously, and unsurprisingly, dictionary definitions often read like putdowns. Google’s dictionary defines “introvert” as “a shy, reticent person.” I’m an introvert. I’m not shy or reticent.
Similarly, searching for a photo of “introverts” for this article produced pictures of people buried under their bed covers or looking morosely out a window at a grey and dreary sky. I guess it’s easier to pictorially display depression than what I feel as an introvert —…
