When I was a kid, particularly in early elementary school, I would stay inside and work on math problems rather than go out to recess. It wasn't that I didn't want to go to recess. It's just that I was a perfectionist, and priorities came from that. For example, if we had taken a math speed test, and I hadn't done it as quickly as I thought I should or as quickly as I had previously, it was more important to me to practice than to go out to recess. Perhaps part of it was avoidance of unpleasant playground social dynamics, such as bullying, but I remember it more as a desire to work on what mattered most to me. I could run around outside at home, where I could be alone or play with the friends I wanted to play with, but going out to the Lord of the Flies playground didn't hold as much appeal as perfecting my math or spelling skills.
While my interest seems to have shifted away from math and towards other things like understanding relationships and social interaction, I still do that in a way. I stay inside and work on perfecting or organizing my thoughts, writing, editing photos, etc, and it often takes effort on my friends' part to get me outside to play with the other kids. I don't care to change myself to fit a social mold, and I certainly don't want to give up polishing the skills, hobbies, and understanding I want to work on (most of which are primarily solitary endeavors), but I do like to remind myself of this once in a while to remember balance.
Accordingly, I'm going to go take a shower and get out of the house for a while. :-)
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