“You were running through the
store like a cheetah,” Larry told me.
We laughed, and I said he was
exaggerating, but I actually would have liked to be able to run like a cheetah
on Saturday.
We had to go to the local big box
store. I hate going to the big box store. I don’t like shopping, and I don’t
like being in crowds, and the big box store includes both.
After a little while of dodging
other people, being caught in cart traffic jams, and listening to the voices of
hundreds of people, I reach the point where I take over pushing the cart and
barrel my way to the checkout as fast as I can.
I shouldn’t blame it all on the
big box store. I just don’t like crowds and noise, and when I reach the point
where I feel like I can’t take it anymore, I feel a bit frantic and in need of
an escape.
I guess I’m partly like this
because I’m very introverted. And I come up as a highly sensitive person when I take the self-test.
I have to make adjustments, of
course. Sometimes I have to be in crowds; sometimes I have to work in the midst
of noise. But I try to limit those situations.
One of the things that bothered me
about taking the town job—one of the things that was sitting in my gut, telling
me to be careful—was a comment that was made to me by one of the people I talked
with during the hiring process. I would have had to work with this person.
He told me that he would make me
into an extrovert.
I didn’t like that. There is
nothing wrong with being an introvert. There is nothing wrong with being
sensitive. I’m an adult, I’m pretty self-aware, and I have learned to adapt
myself to what needs to be done without changing who I am.
I will just keep adapting when I
have to. And when need be, I’ll run like a cheetah.
 |
| I've been having fun with piZap. |
How do you react to being in crowds?
My daughter is exactly like this too. EXCEPT...for some reason she loves concerts! She is such a conundrum :)
ReplyDeletei'd prefer not to be in them. just not my scene any more. and i'm glad you listened to your gut.
ReplyDeletei don't like to shop and i have a love/hate relationship with those big box stores. i love their chickens, and i hate everything else!!!! i really dislike big crowds but only recently, i use to be ok with crowds!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou have to read The Power of the Introvert. It told that many very famous and effective people were introverts(Eleonor Roosevelt) . It explained how introverts operate. It made sense to this introvert and I feel much better about being introvert.
ReplyDeleteHee hee! To quote Scott Adams, "faster than a cheetah leaving a salad bar!" I'm like you, an HSP and an introvert. It took years of trying to change myself and allow other people trying to change me to realize that I can't change, nor should I have to – there's nothing "wrong" with being an introvert. Introverts are needed and important every bit as much as extroverts! Shep got me "Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking" by Susan Cain for Christmas, and it was fantastic. http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/
ReplyDeleteUgh, I hate crowds! I also wish people understood that we "innies" don't have anything wrong with us. It's just how we're wired.
ReplyDeleteI hate crowds with a fiery passion. Going to stores is horrible, they're packed and the noise and the lights - no way! I just try to avoid it all whenever I can.
ReplyDeleteI am the same way. You won't find me out on black Friday.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Tina! Just be yourself. You are awesome!
ReplyDeleteI hate the big box stores, too -- for lots of reasons. I don't shop on Black Friday, I hate the crowds, uncomfortable at big-arena events (theatres don't bother me, but I was raised in those!). Shopping -- crowds, carts, aisles that pen me in make me nuts! One time I was at a Meijer store on Christmas Eve (don't as) -- mega grocery store with clothes, sporting goods, electronics, toys -- you get the idea. I was in an aisle when they announced that all Christmas candy was now 75 percent off and I was right by where it was. All these people came out of nowhere. In my check register I wrote "I am very brave to come here today." I'm a little better now but avoid it whenever I can!
ReplyDeleteOh no no no. No. No one needs to "make you into" anything that they want you to be. There is nothing wrong with introversion at all. I do like that comment either. An introvert does not need to become an extrovert.
ReplyDeleteI'm right with you girl when it comes to those large stores with people crowding every aisle. I stay out of there as much as I can. When I have to go I go early in the morning before all those people get a chance to stir about. Best way to do it if you have to.
ReplyDeleteNo one really wants to be "changed" although sometimes change is necessary for growth. I think though you made the choice that was right for you and that's what matters. As to crowds...I think it depends on where the crowd is to how I react to them. In places like concerts, ball games etc...I just go with the flow of everyone else and it doesn't bother me. Now crowded roads are a different story as I tend to be impatient about waiting in long lines of traffice.
ReplyDelete