Maiden Voyage
Exploring a creative and safe space to share life in the middle of the introvert-extrovert continuum
Welcome and thank you for reading this post. I'm new to Substack and am exploring it as a creative and safe space to share my experiences and thoughts. I’m navigating how to live a simpler life in the digital age and learning how to embrace my ambivert tendencies.
Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport, and a number of other books have been welcome guides. I read widely, am a member of two book clubs and co-host one of them. I reached a personal milestone in June, reading five books that month.
I hope to share some of my insights from the range of books I read, including the ones I am reading as part of my research about ambiverts, introverts and highly sensitive people for a book I’m writing.
Because the love project is the project.
Where did I come from?
The title of this section made sense when I first wrote it. I was attempting to provide context for you, the reader, about what led me to create Confessions of an Ambivert. But it also made me laugh out aloud. It revealed a long forgotten childhood memory of me sitting in bed as a twelve or thirteen year old girl.
I like to imagine I was reading a book at the time, but I may have been listening to Richard Marx on my Walkman. My bedroom door was closed and my Mum knocked, opened the door slightly, and handed me the book Where did I come from?.
“If you have any questions, let me know.” I do not recall her making eye contact or even entering the room, as her arm reached through the door with this book and I reached over and took it from her. The door closed and I laughed as I read the book’s cover.
I digress.
For now, I’d like to record how I got here. It’s a brief story about a recent experience that reminded me of something important I’d forgotten. It was the idea of coming out as an ambivert. This is not a new concept for me, but it had laid dormant1 until a brief moment of meditation.
Confessions of an Ambivert
I was feeling 'peopled out' towards the end of a one day conference. I’d travelled interstate to attend, flying from Melbourne to Sydney the afternoon before.
Deciding to leave the conference early, I returned my lanyard and walked the short distance to my hotel room. I was hoping for some quiet time before the evening’s activities; a black tie awards night. My plan was to rest in my room, visit the local hairdresser and then walk into Sydney’s CBD and catch the train to the event at Luna Park in Milson’s Point.
The idea of this 15 minutes of quiet had been on my mind since about 12.30pm.
Giddy with the idea of giving myself 15 glorious minutes to do absolutely nothing, I entered my hotel room, placed my handbag on my desk and hung my jacket on the hanger. I checked the lights were off, closed the curtains, took off my shoes and lay flat on my back across the freshly made bed. I stretched out my arms and legs and let out a big sigh.
A smile came across my face as the joy of darkness swept over me.
I quietened my mind and began to take slow and deep breaths. In and out.
Breathe in.
Count to 5.
Hold.
Breathe out.
Count to 5.
Hold.
Repeat.
A little while later I opened my eyes. As I slowly sat up, the words ‘Confessions of an Ambivert’ popped into my head. Since that moment I’ve been thinking about what those words meant and how they led me to here. To right now. To writing these words.
Something inside me (probably my True Voice) believes this idea visited me for a reason. Ideas are their own force that knock on the doors of our souls and ask to be heard2.
Share these moments with others.
Confess the stress of too much peopling.
Share how you’ve learnt to manage these moments.
Embrace your desire need to withdraw, rest, read and think.
Share the spaciousness of profound thoughts.
Open yourself up to like-minded souls. You are not alone.
Share what you’re learning about ambiverts, introverts and HSP.
Celebrate the gifts of being versus doing.
Remember in these moments that the present is the present.
With love & gratitude,
KPH
I acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which I live and pay my respects to Indigenous Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.
In 2016 I first wrote about Discovering I am an Ambivert. If you’re curious about whether you may also have ambivert tendencies, here’s a Quiz: Are you an Introvert or an Extrovert. It’s from Susan Cain’s website. Cain is the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking.
Elizabeth Gilbert explores the concept of ideas being their own entity in Big Magic.
Welcome to Substack. A beautiful post to start. I feel Substack is a safe social media home for introverts and ambiverts.