I get by with a little help from my friends.

Sort of.

As an introvert, few things warm the cockles than time alone. Alone with your thoughts. Alone with your idiosyncrasies. Alone with your energy. ALONE.

The idea of a crowded nightclub, or another social gathering where the tried and tested conversation starters such as Jordan Peterson, Bitcoin, and Donald Trump are banded about ad nauseam, doesn’t so much fill me with dread as it does with overriding cynicism.

I’ve always looked upon these social interactions with a jaundiced eye. Acutely aware that people aren’t really interested in what I have to say, they are merely allowing this old dog to finish hogging the discourse before jumping back in the conversational saddle.

As a Project Manager, there is a certain level of symmetry in the fact that most of my week is pretty much mapped out Monday-Friday. Barring the occasional tryst with a member of the fairer sex, my week is usually made up of the work-gym-family trident.

There is comfort to that, albeit punctuated by the need for a more active social life. Silence isn’t always golden, it can also be a dull, repetitive hue. Try conversing after a period alone and you’ll sound less like Morgan Freeman and more like Nick Nolte!

There is ample literature out there on the need for socializing but you don’t need to trawl the internet or try and decipher the Socratic method to know that being alone too often is quite simply, not sustainable.

It is easy to batten down the hatches and retreat to your enclave under the guise of “individualism”, but now and again, a venture away from that dreaded comfort zone will do one the world of good.

So carpe diem fellow introverts! Go forth and conquer. But remember to be economical with your energy. Reserve your time, intensity, and spirit exclusively to those who reflect sincerity.

Let the wicked wit of Oscar Wilde guide you – “A bore is someone who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company.”