How Blogging Benefits Introverts
Back in the summer of 2014, I was at a strange point in my life. I’d just graduated from university with a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, and was working part time in a retail job that, as an introvert, I found incredibly draining.
I was also stuck in the soul-crushing cycle of applying for job after job. My inbox was quickly filling up with rejection emails, and the number of failed job interviews I’d attended was racking up. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, or what job would best suit my more reserved temperament, and I felt that my quiet manner was holding me back in job interviews.
I was beginning to despair and my self-confidence had dropped to an all-time low. I stopped doing a lot of the things I’d always loved (reading and writing, for example), content to wallow in my own pity and resent my introverted ways.
It was in a moment of clarity that I realised that all this feeling sorry for myself wasn’t the answer, and that wallowing was doing me more harm than good. I decided that there had to be a better, more constructive use of all that spare time I had when I wasn’t working or applying for jobs. It was then that the idea of starting a blog occurred to me.
I’d been following various blogs for several years, and had always had the nagging feeling of wanting to start my own, but fear had always held me back. I have never had the best technical skills, and all the bloggers I followed already seemed to have their little groups and cliques which I found threatening. I’d never been very good at fitting in, and so I had no idea how to even introduce myself to this thriving world of established bloggers.
But I pushed myself and did it anyway, and now, years later, it has benefited me in ways I could never have foreseen, especially regarding my introversion.
Blogging is a creative outlet.
Many introverts are highly creative people, and their creative pursuits are how they express themselves and engage with the world. Therefore, to be deprived of that had left me feeling disconnected and uninspired, and had damaged my already shaky self-esteem.
However, through blogging I finally had a creative project to sink my teeth into, and it left me feeling rejuvenated. I loved the feeling of communicating my thoughts and ideas into the world, instead of clutching them protectively to my chest as I usually did, and getting a response to those thoughts was encouraging.
Blogging allows you to meet like-minded people and have deep conversations.
As with many introverts, I dread small talk, and prefer deeper, in-depth conversations with people who share my interests. However, in your day-to-day life, it’s difficult to strike up these sorts of conversations with people you don’t know that well, and you’re confined to more mundane conversations like the weather and what you did over the weekend.
However, it’s perfectly normal in the blogging world to get deep pretty quickly, whether that’s in the comments section of a blog post, or on social media. Whilst a lot of blog posts are about things like books, or fashion, or beauty, there are also a lot of bloggers out there who speak about topics like mental health, social issues, and self-development.
And the most beautiful thing about it is the level of support and lack of judgement I’ve seen in response to a lot of these soul-bearing posts. The blogging world that I had initially found so threatening turned out to be unbelievably welcoming and accepting of everyone, introverted or extroverted.
Blogging is an introvert-friendly way to network and make a name for yourself in various industries.
Blogging has also helped me in a more practical way, and one that is more closely related to my original plight after graduating from university. Blogging has helped me learn a variety of new skills to put on my resume, all from the comfort of my home.
Blogging is also now a way that many people network and get into various industries, as opposed to the old way of having to schmooze possible contacts at events, or work for little to no pay in endless internships and entry-level jobs (activities that are positively hellish for many introverts!). Through blogging I’ve had various opportunities come my way that I otherwise wouldn’t have had, from writing guest posts and taking on paid freelance work, to chatting on Twitter with authors I admire and receiving free books to review. Through blogging I’ve also built up enough confidence in my writing to start publishing here on Medium as well as on my blog, which has been a great experience so far.
Thankfully, not too long after I found blogging I managed to get a full-time job that suited me much better than my retail job ever did. But still to this day, there’s nothing I love more than coming home from my day job, sitting down at my computer and delving back into the wonderful, introvert-friendly world of blogging.
