Sometimes, the most difficult part of life is actually figuring out what exactly you want, and being able to verbalize that to the people around you. People who are ambiverts deal with this struggle all the time, constantly swinging between a desire to be alone and a desire to be the complete and utter life of the party. This likely leads to a constant myriad of mixed plans, canceled events, and overall increased stress levels.
An ambivert is someone whose character is split more evenly between extroverted and introverted qualities than most people. Although the average person probably experiences a range of qualities, both extroverted and introverted, ambiverts tend to exist directly upon the line in the sand. They want quiet time just as much as they want to go out to a concert with a massive group of friends.
As a result, it's pretty inevitable that an ambivert is going to have a hell of a time trying to plan out their weekends, alternating between a huge drive for seclusion and an equally strong urge to be surrounded by your loved ones. Here are five classic struggles that most ambiverts have to deal with when they're trying to plan out every single weekend, without fail:
The classic ambivert move? Committing to a bunch of activities that sound fun in theory, then realizing how much "people" time you've booked out for yourself and totally panicking.
As a fellow plan-canceller, I can say that, surprisingly enough, honesty is always your best route. Instead of coming up with some outlandish reason for why you no longer want to do go, you might want to consider simply explaining that you're not feeling these plans anymore, and you need some time to just chill out.
Everyone's been there before: You offer to host a pre-game, thinking that it sounds easy and fun at the time (plus, it allows you to stay in your pajamas 'til literally five minutes before the event), and then you realize what you've committed yourself to.
The first rule of hosting any sort of party is to start with the basics: keep it simple, get a bunch of red plastic cups, and make a playlist. Your friends are going to have fun no matter what, and this might be one of those situations where it's not ideal to bail, entirely, so minimizing the level of effort you have to put in is your best bet.
Ambiverts might feel annoyed or overwhelmed by spending too much time with people, but the same can be true for spending too much time alone, which is why you decided to have a self-care night, and freaked out halfway through about missing that concert the rest of your friends are at.
Sigh. The struggle is real, even when you're in the middle of a bubble bath.
Sometimes you can feel so frozen between options that you can't even make a decision at all, and end up spending half the night simply mulling over what you could do without making any commitments.
Although nothing seems perfect, it might be preferable to just make a decision and go with it, rather than agonizing over what to do in the first place.
Your friends are as patient as humanly possible with your flip flopping, but it probably annoys or frustrates them when you're constantly changing your mind about what you want to do.
Staying honest with them is definitely your best bet, and maybe buying one of your besties brunch if you've flaked on her a lot in the last few months. She'll appreciate the gesture, and you'll get a get-out-of-jail-free card for the next time you really don't want to go to that pre-game.
