Introversion Is Not a Disease

      Today I wish to go on a social tangent and put the hobby aside for a bit. I found an interesting question on Quora that I thought I should address. The question was, “WHAT DOES AN INTROVERT LOSE ON LIFE”? It came with some very interesting comments. I thought, what the hell, I am an introvert and I don’t remember having lost anything in life!! I can only remember having gained a lot, instead. I have heard various psychologists speak and write about this subject as if it’s some communicable disease that needs to be avoided. Some of the disadvantages that are claimed to go with introversion are shyness, not assertive enough and so losing out on that big promotion among many. Well, let me speak for myself. I do not need any diagnosis to know who I am and guess what I am perfectly comfortable with who I am. Infact if I were to die and reincarnate I would forever wish to remain introverted. Let me say that, this is not an introvert versus extrovert topic. I have lots of friends and family who are extroverts and I love their personality but I do not envy it. My best friend is an extrovert and I love him to bits for being who he is and being comfortable with it. My problem with some introverts is that, they do not accept who they are because society sometimes makes them feel like they are some anti-social outcasts. Yes, you may not be into huge crowds, yes you may be shy and so what?? Why would you want to live your life pleasing society with a personality that you are not? Why shouldn’t you live your life at your own comfort as long as it is within legal boundaries?

SELFISHNESS?: Introverts are often accused of being inward looking and selfish. Funny! Is there any personality alive who does not have an ounce of selfishness? Afterall, if you can’t love yourself, it’s virtually impossible to love others. What makes anyone believe that an extrovert who puts himself/herself out there and becomes the centre of attraction, the life of the party, isn’t being selfish? Trying to gain the attention of everyone and ignoring the sensibilities of others is equally a selfish way of pleasing ones ego. That to me is not necessarily a bad trait, though because it has its advantages too.  It is just who they are as extroverts. The only difference is that, they acknowledge and accept it whereas introverts mostly fail to do same.  

REAL FRIENDS: Being an introvert has attracted real and true friendships into my life and I have been an equally real and true friend to all. I do not have to spend my life pleasing the crowd to become popular in order to make friends. Infact, I hate being popular. It only tends to have you superficially pleasing others instead of being yourself. It also leads you to making fake friends. I know this because my extrovert friends, despite their numerous friends, always end up coming to me when they have problems that require very intimate solutions. I guess it’s because they can trust me more; so much for a selfish personality, huh?

TRUST: That leads me to the next topic ‘trust’. As an introvert, I know I can keep your deepest secrets and especially my extrovert friends and family know that too. Your spouse can infinitely trust you. I also know at work, I can be trusted to keep job secrets and get the job done on time. I see myself as laid back but confident in my job. I would not be the one to run someone down to take his/her place. I would rather do my job exceedingly well and let it speak for itself. I’d rather prefer I got a promotion because I did a great job and deserve it rather than know I got it by ‘fighting’ out someone else.

LOYALTY: As an introvert, you are very loyal in all your relationships. You are less likely to cheat on your friends or partner than others. You may every now and then be tempted but that is a natural human trait, however because of your laid back nature, you’re less likely to make initiatives or approaches to the opposite sex hence cheat. Even if the other takes the initiative, your massive self-conscience usually acts as a defensive mechanism against cheating. Your sub-conscience would always tell you this is wrong and prevent you from cheating hence you are more likely to stay loyal to your spouse than others. Simply put, you would have longer lasting and happier relationships.

CAREFUL THOUGHT: As an introvert you give careful and detailed thought to decision making and risk taking. Some people believe introverts are risk averse but rather, you take risks with calculated steps because you hate to fail. You prefer to learn and gather all the information required to succeed before taking a leap. You are a deep thinker therefore more likely to succeed than fail at first attempts on projects you undertake and even in your social adventures. Some people view this as procrastination or lack of self confidence but you know what you’re up to! You usually come out of the blue with huge success and everyone becomes surprised. Isn’t this an awesome trait?

The truth is that, as an introvert, there are career paths that may not be good for you and there are some types of relationships that you may not be successful at but does that mean you’re ‘horrible’? No, because this does not apply to only introverts. It applies to all types of personalities. You may not be good at marketing or sales but imagine being that ‘start-up king’ who sits back, makes all the decisions and hires all these skills to work for you?  How about being the loyal friend that everyone can trust? There are more advantages to being an introvert than not. Just embrace who you are and be comfortable with it and you will be fine.

6 Must-Have Guitar Tools for a Beginner

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      The guitar is a great instrument as you all know. It is fun and enjoyable to play especially when after learning notes and chords, you manage to play some of your favourite tracks. As a beginner, there are a few must-have equipments to aid you in your lessons. I call them the ‘six must-have guitar tools’ for every beginner. You would find most of them in your local music store or even better still, on an online store like EBay where there are some great bargains. There are a lot more tools that you would need later on as you master but before you begin, you need these six tools.

1.      ELECTRIC TUNER                                                                                             

 Unless you have mastered guitar playing or you are an expert and can tune the strings ‘perfectly’ with your ears, you would need one of these. It is the Electric Guitar Tuner. It’s a small electrical equipment that helps you tune the strings EBGDAE to sound correctly so that you can get the perfect sound out of the chords. It comes in different shapes and forms. There are some pretty expensive ones but a good one for a beginner should not cost beyond $20. Some come with an attached internal microphone that can pick the sound of your acoustic guitar and direct you to tune it properly. In the case of an electric guitar it can be directly plugged in to help you tune the strings perfectly.                                                                                                                           

2.      STRING WINDER

A guitar string winder is also an essential equipment for a beginner. At some point you might have to change strings and that is where the String winder comes in handy. See the string winder as the ‘screw driver’ for removing and fixing strings on your guitar. You can’t use your fingers to continuously wind the pegs when changing strings or you would get your fingers sore. Some actually come with a string cutter which makes changing strings a lot easier. They are my personal favourites. For less than $10,you should get a good one.                                                                            

                                                                  

3.      GUITAR CASES(HARD CASES VS PADDED CASES) 

PADDED WATERPROOF CASE

HARD SHELL CASE

The name says it all. Depending on where you bought your guitar, it may have come with a case or not. If it came with one, then great you have no problem but if it didn’t you may want to get one. Of course, it serves the basic purpose of helping you carry your guitar with you wherever you wish to go with it but also most importantly, it preserves the guitar from changing temperatures, rain or snow. There are the hard shell cases made of either wood or chip board and also padded cases. The hard shell cases because of their wooden component tend to protect the guitar from any external pressure and would keep your guitar very safe but personally, I prefer the padded cases because I find it more stylish hanging my guitar over my shoulders. Whichever you choose is fine based on your preferences. If your preference is the hard shell cases then you’re looking at something around $90 for a good one but if like me, you prefer the padded cases then you are looking at something around $40 for a waterproof padded case.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

4.      A METRONOME

The Metronome is a small equipment you would need as well. It’s an equipment that helps you practice your play at a required tempo. There is a regulator with which you can use to alternate the tempo as required during a practice. There are different types, some mechanical with a ‘tick tock’ sound like ‘grandpa’s’ antique clock, others electrical with a beeping or clicking sound. My personal choice is the electronic metronome with the clicking sound. I tend to associate its sound with the tapping of the foot when music is playing and so it makes it really convenient for practicing, that is why I would recommend that type. I find the beeping Metronome a lot more distractive because to me, it sounds like a clock alarm but who knows, you might associate that sound with something positive and find it more convenient. Just try them all and find which one would work for you. For the beginner a basic electronic Metronome should cost a paltry $ 8.

5.      A CAPO

The Capo is another equipment that you would need but not necessarily in your first month of learning. In a layman’s explanation, it is usually a small equipment that is hooked to a guitar to press down the strings on a particular fret in order to increase the tension and change the sound of the notes. You may need it later when you actually start learning chords and practicing songs that require one.  There are different types and brands out there but for a beginner a simple Capo would do. Most of them are standard but there are some specifically made for acoustic guitar and others for electric guitars so you need to be specific or you would buy the wrong Capo. A Capo in the range of about $5 should do for now. The good thing about this equipment is that, it is the one guitar equipment that you can improvise at home if you can’t afford the original (more on this later).

6.      FINGER EXERCISER

In my previous blogs on guitar for beginners, I have talked about how as a beginner, you would need to do some finger exercising. As a beginner, your fingers may not be strong enough to endure long practicing therefore, you would need one of these. Your ‘pinky’ is usually your weakest finger and may need a lot of exercising. Also your fore finger would require some special exercising when you start playing Barre Chords because that’s the finger you would mostly be using. Generally however your entire fingers would need regular exercising and so the Finger exerciser is an important tool for a beginner. You can find a video in my previous blog on how to exercise your fingers as a beginner. This equipment comes in different forms but they are all effective. With $6 dollars you should get a good one.

          These in my opinion, are the basic equipments, apart from the guitar that a beginner needs to start off right. You can if you wish add a stand where you can place all these equipments so that they are easily accessible when needed. Feel free to share, comment or ask any question.