On Introversion & Extroversion 🪞

May 28, 2025

Hey there,

As somebody who writes a weekly newsletter, of course, I have conflicting thoughts on my own introversion and extroversion.

On one hand, I must have some strain of extroversion in me, since I insist on sharing my thoughts with people. On the other hand, I do it via a written format, behind a keyboard, which leans into introversion territory.

And that kinda sums it up, no? Most of us aren't 100% one or the other — it is very situational, very conditional, and seems like the perfect mix of "weather" and "climate". As in, we can swing from one end of the spectrum to the other within a given day, but maybe our global trends can make us appear to be leaning more towards one of the two extremes. ⚖️

Some days, I crave the company of others more than usual. I want to be out there — talking, laughing, vibing. Other times, even a phone notification feels like an intrusion (it's usually on bad mental health days, of course 🌧️).

I've noticed that as I get older, I tend to lean more towards a certain kind of dynamic balance. Where I don't put myself into one specific box, and I don't make the need for connection a hardcoded part of my personality. It's just a symptom of other things, most of the time. And once you realise it is mostly a passing phenomenon, you don't treat yourself as harshly — you just let the self-regulation do its job.

(Have you ever got that feeling of being at a party, or a meeting, or even just walking through a crowd — you're technically there, but your mind is hovering above your body, in a 3rd person POV? It's not bad, just a strange kind of detachment. Like you're present, but spectating. 🤷)

It makes me think: maybe modern life isn't designed for clear-cut introverts or extroverts. It's built more like an obstacle course for people trying to do both: to be reachable and unreachable at the same time. Share, but only the polished bits. Be visible, but not too much. Be alone, but not lonely. Social, but not needy.

There's something fascinating about how many of our spaces now fall into this "soft-social" zone. Not real solitude, because your phone is always buzzing. But not fully social either, because you can always leave your phone and go somewhere else. It's a limbo. And weirdly enough, most of us have learned to live there — we kinda have to.

Maybe that's why things like newsletters, voice notes, longform YouTube essays, and solo podcasts are on the rise. 🎙️ They're not demanding. They let you dip into a headspace without having to match someone's energy in real-time. You can just be, in parallel with someone else's thoughts. No pressure.

I don't think that's lazy or disconnected. Just adaptive. A new kind of tempo we're learning to move to. Not a binary switch between alone and together, but a dial we keep adjusting throughout time.

Have you ever spent too much time wondering which camp you're part of? If you're reading this newsletter, chances are high that you've analysed yourself one too many times. 😆

Weekly Insights

• The last few days have been about reaping some of the "fruits of the labour" of the past few months — things like getting a sudden SEO-driven spike in traffic for pokemonpalette.com, receiving positive feedback by clients on the product we're working on at TalentSight, and even a recent jump in the price of Bitcoin. 😎
• It reminds me of the issue I wrote about in "When You're in the Tunnel", which focused on persevering, even when there's no light in sight, relying on hope 99% of the time.
• It still rings true for me, and I am not planning to slow down the pace of my projects, but it's nice to enjoy the results when they do arrive. 🏆

Movie Highlight: Thunderbolts*

Last week, I went to the cinema, and the choice of movies wasn't the most generous one. That's how I found myself watching Thunderbolts*, the newest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (Disclaimer: I wasn't too well-versed with most past movies, the last Marvel movie I watched, I think, was Age of Ultron, so yeah.)

The premise is simple — in a post-Avengers world, a band of random misfit supersoldiers find themselves fighting on the same side. They don't like each other, they barely trust each other, but they have a common cause, and that seems to be enough for them to join forces. The movie builds on the "found family" trope — it emphasises some good messages, that I personally really enjoyed, like the importance of being open to help from others, sharing issues as a first step to solving them, etc. Just a general vibe of camaraderie and family.

I'd give this movie a solid 5/10 — it wasn't anything groundbreaking, and I'm not generally an MCU action fan. However, it seems to achieve the goals it's set for itself, to be entertaining, to make you care for (some of) the characters, and to potentially make you kinder to yourself. Which deserves the brownie points. 👆

Worth Watching This Week

The Episode Where Jake Almost Lost Himself (And What it Teaches) by Lessons Of — a sharp character study using one of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's quieter arcs to talk about identity drift.

How to Make the Next 100 Days the Best of Your Life by Captain Sinbad — an opinionated, no-fluff playbook for stacking small wins over a focused stretch of time.

Closing Thoughts

Till next week, stay safe, stay curious, and keep kicking. ✌️