Be More Extroverted = Score More Wins
Do you sometimes wish you could connect with people a little more easily? It’s not uncommon for introverted people to feel a little held back by their personality, or to wish they had a few more people in their social circle. In fact, nearly 90% of people say they wish they were more extroverted.
Although a guy’s personality doesn’t usually change drastically over the course of his life, it’s possible to learn how to be more outgoing. This can help men achieve more success in a career, in the dating world, and in other areas of life.
What Does It Mean to Be Extroverted?
Extroverts like to spend more time with other people and less time alone. An extrovert will usually feel energized in the middle of a group of people and will feel drained when he is by himself. People who are extroverts also tend to be:
- Outgoing
- Active
- Impulsive
- Positive-minded
- Adventure-seeking
- Ambitious
- Assertive
Scientific research has found that extroverts’ brains use brain chemicals differently. Especially the ones that control how a person responds to rewards. Extroverts’ brains have a stronger reaction when they take a gamble that pays off, making them more likely to seek adventure and take risks.
Advantages of Being an Extrovert
It’s not a bad thing to be an introvert – different personality traits have different pros and cons that work better for certain people. Many guys are perfectly content being introverted. However, there’s no doubt that people who are outgoing have certain advantages.
Being extroverted can lead to bigger successes over the course of a man’s career. This starts early, when people are in school. Extroversion leads people to be more motivated and driven to learn. Extroverts also tend to do better in their careers, based on both internal measures of success like job satisfaction and external measures of success like income and job title. One reason may be that people who connect with their coworkers socially are more likely to get promotions.
Extroversion may also help in the dating arena. One recent scientific study found that extroverted people were more likely to have sex regularly. This was even more true for men than it was for women. It’s not entirely clear why this is. One potential reason is that extroverts socialize more, so they may have more opportunities to meet people. Another possible factor is men who are more extroverted are preferred by potential partners.
Is It Possible to Change Your Personality Over Time?
Past research has found that your genes play a big role in shaping your personality. While scientists don’t yet know exactly which specific genes affect how we behave, they have found that family members who share genes are much more likely to have similar personality traits.
On the other hand, more recent studies have shown that your personality can change over time. Sometimes these changes happen due to biological changes within your brain. Other times, you may gain new personality traits because of major life experiences or a new social role. For example, committing to a romantic partner or to a job can help people’s personalities stabilize. Additionally, people can try to shape their personalities themselves by investing time and effort into altering their behaviors.
So how do you change your personality? Some scientific research has found that when you focus on new thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, these factors eventually start to feel more natural. In other words, fake it ‘til you make it. If you can keep up the act long enough, pretty soon new behaviors will solidify into lasting change.
How To Become More Extroverted
The answer to personality change may be simpler than you think. In one study, the more people wanted to change their personality, the more change actually happened. When people set a goal for being more extroverted, they ended up acting and thinking like a more extroverted person.
This study found that a really effective way to change your personality was through the use of weekly goal setting. The key was that these goals were very specific. A vague goal like “talk to more people” didn’t seem to help much at all, but more detailed goals like “say hi to one person today” proved much more effective. Making small, concrete goals for yourself can help you get used to practicing extroverted behaviors, which over time will feel more natural. Examples of goals to try include:
- Invite a particular coworker to go out for drinks next weekend
- If you feel stressed, call up a certain friend and talk to them about it
- Talk to one stranger today
- If someone starts talking to you, respond using full sentences rather than basic “yes” or “no” answers
Another study by the same authors took the experiment a step further. Researchers sent out specific challenges to study participants each week. These challenges encouraged people to take more action and be more assertive in their interactions with others. The more challenges participants took on, the more extroverted they became. The challenges started with simple, small steps and gradually increased in difficulty. Try this for yourself by writing out a progressive series of goals and taking on a new action each day. One example of this from the study included:
- “Brainstorm a list of questions to ask other people”
- “Go to a public place where people mingle and say ‘hello’ to someone new”
- “Introduce yourself to someone new”
- “Introduce yourself to someone new and ask them at least two questions about themselves”
Other Strategies for Boosting Social Behavior
In a few cases, people who have a hard time being social may actually have other underlying issues. For example, social anxiety can make people feel intensely afraid of being judged or have extreme feelings of self-consciousness. They may also have physical symptoms like nausea or sweating. Social anxiety can often get in the way of daily life if a person has trouble communicating with people at work. However, medication or cognitive behavioral therapy can reverse these issues and help people be more extroverted.
Maybe you don’t have an underlying condition, but rather you just simply aren’t as socially connected as you want to be. In this case, you may benefit from natural supplements that can affect performance. Green Lumber is a blend of herbs and plants that is specially designed for men. Taking it can improve stamina, strength, energy, and confidence. Getting a little extra all-natural boost may help get your mental game closer to where you want it to be.
If you’re motivated to try to be more extroverted, or at the very least to act more outgoing, there are steps you can take to try building your social skills. Setting goals for more social interaction and giving your mental health an extra boost with Green Lumber may help you gain benefits in many areas of life, including work, family, dating, and relationships.