Ever feel like you want to be someone else?

Sometimes I wish I was extraverted. Our world is an energetic and social one, and those with the most social energy often have advantages. They tend to have more charisma, tend to get noticed more, and can seem more likable.

But I’ll be honest: when I think about it… I really like who I am.

Being more introverted and cognizant, I catch stuff a lot of people don’t. I’ll pick up more deeply on patterns or the emotions of others. I’ll see details that often go missed. My love for silence and solitude can offer advantages as well: a knack for self-reflection and emotional maturity, perhaps; a deep inner world that can be fertile for thorough thought and clarity.

I’ve realized these are a few of my favourite things about myself, and they are things I likely wouldn’t have if I was this other outgoing type. So while “the grass can seem greener” sometimes, I don’t actually want to be like those other people. I want to be me.

Now, this is not to say that “introverts are deep, extroverts are shallow” – far from it. It’s just to say that in our uniquenesses we have advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses that we should own instead of beat ourselves up for. This is also not to say that I should never be working on my “other parts”. The outgoing types may need to work a bit harder to ensure they practice solitude; the silent types will need to ensure they’re challenging themselves socially. This is an important part of maturity.

We are who we are

We are who we are for a reason. Take that in for a second.

Being created means being designed with purpose. First, practically: the world wouldn’t be what it needs to be or have what it needs to have if all of us were one type of person.

Who would the strong, silent observers be? If we were all warrior-kings, who would the priestly-advisers be? Who would be our reflective types, writers, and poets? Think about how much beauty and insight would be lost to our world!

We all at times wish parts of ourselves were different. We wish we were smarter, bigger, faster, stronger, more attractive… the list could go on. But what if you, the very way that you are, even the seemingly not so great parts, had a role to play in something bigger? What if there are parts of you that you just need to own, and even learn to like? What if they are designed for God-given purpose, even if they seem pointless or detrimental?

Who’s to say the beauty that could come of them?