Here’s the thing about being introverted: sometimes you feel like you don’t belong.

Around 50-74% of people are reportedly extroverts, probably because society rewards the extroverted tendency. As an introvert, you’re social, but only to a certain extent.

Those times you find yourself sitting alone at the bar - even though you came with friends - can be trying, to say the least. You’re perfectly fine with making the effort to strike up a conversation. You’re used to it. But the fact remains, it’s an effort.

Since you’re constantly analytical, and along with that comes a high degree of self-criticism, you don’t tend to view your own thought process as an advantage. Yet it is. You’re equipped with the skills to make important things happen. Science and art and education all have people like you to thank for the advancements they bring to society.

It’s time to fully seize your introverted tendency, to own it and make it your strength. So dive into that book. Being introverted is incredibly valuable once you realize it’s a good thing.

Start Your Own Blog

Please! The internet needs more thoughtful, helpful blogs to balance out the glut of sensationalism, conspiracy theories, click-bait, negativity and utter nonsense.

For most of us, it’s very easy to sit back online and just consume, with an occasional pointed comment thrown in for good measure. But as an introvert, you’re the perfect candidate to create the quality content we rely on. Starting a blog is one of the best ways to immediately connect with the outside world like only an introvert can.

How to do it: There are a number of free blogging platforms you can use to get up and going. If you want to take your blog some place big, you will have to spend some money at some point. But a free blog and social media (to spread the word) will suit your incipient purposes just fine. Include pictures, and do your best to post every day.

Educate Yourself Online

Yes, college is a great place to meet people. But the primary purpose of school is to truly grasp a subject.

Online classes are a great way to master your favorite subject with no distractions. An extrovert can't take advantage of this to the same level you can. Your ability to focus will help you get the absolute most out of the online educational environment.

How to do it: If you can avoid taking out a loan, do so. Through the Starbucks Achievement Plan, Jessica Ohrt was able to get a full tuition reimbursement for an online degree in sustainability from Arizona State, which ranks among the top 1% of online programs. You don’t have to work at Starbucks to get help with tuition, though. There are fifteen other companies that offer various levels of assistance, and free education resources can be just as valuable for your mind as accredited college courses.

Take Advantage of the Work-From-Home Trend

Thanks to Millennials, more and more companies are offering flexible work environments, and that includes the option to work from home.

About 89% of Millennials would prefer to choose where and when they work, which is driving employers to become more flexible: the number of Americans who work from home will jump 63% in the next five years. As an introvert, you can seek out employers who will let you do what you do best with no office distractions and as much alone time as you need.    

How to do it: If you’re looking for a flexible job, hit up employment sites such as Indeed, Glassdoor, Freelancer, or JobHero. With Freelancer, of course, you’ll be able to choose where you’re getting your work done. On the other sites, filter out the jobs that don’t offer some sort of flexibility. The more of these sites you check out, the greater chance you’ll have of finding something just right.

See our pages on Working from Home for more.

Seek out Groups of Other Introverts

The last thing you’d want to do, right?

Not really. One nice thing about being an introvert is the company. Other introverts who share your interests will be able to help you accomplish a great deal. Other introverts are often on your wavelength, and they don't have unrealistic expectations for your social time. You'll never have deeper, more satisfying conversations in your life.

How to do it: There are several methods of going about this. You could head over to Meetup.com and search for groups based on your interests. You could surf Facebook with keywords for whatever you love to do, find open groups, and ask to join private ones. Or, check out Anomo, the social network for introverts that lets you stay anonymous if you’re a little uncertain this is the right thing for you.

Create an App

You never know what could happen when you set your creative little (I mean, big) mind to it.

Creating an app is now easier than ever, and you don’t even have to know how to code. One fantastic side-effect: if you create a superb app it could get snatched up by a big company for a lot of money, or it could simply garner a ton of downloads, leading to future possibilities.

How to do it: As far as builder software goes, Appy Pie is getting some big mentions for its overall credentials, but it’s not the only game in town. Or, take things into your own hands and build from the ground up with Filemaker, which now has a free technical network for all your educational and networking needs.

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Share Your Art, Your Stories, Your Poetry, Your Music...

Another thing about introverts: we can be self-defeatist when it comes to sharing our creative work.

Creativity comes from the deepest, sometimes darkest, recesses of ourselves and it’s easy to be insecure about broadcasting the results to the world. Your analytical side comes in, the critical side, the one that’s sick of seeing everyone’s third grade poem about roses and apple pie, or their high school one about wanting to die. Thankfully, your critical tendency is exactly why you do good work. Let’s see it.

How to do it: Where to begin? For any kind of art, there’s a home for it online. Come to think of it, the internet is kind of like a repository for this stuff. For poetry, short stories, and novels, there’s writerscafe.org, Poetry Alone, poetry.com, or allpoetry.com. For visual art, there are a number of great communities, including Deviantart, Tumblr, and conceptart.org. For music, try Bandcamp or Soundcloud.

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