But I had an epiphany about this recently, when I was feeling a little and isolated, as can happen for those of us who work at home. "Why so lonely?" I asked myself. "You get invited to all kinds of stuff."

And then it hit me: I get invited to a lot of extrovert events. These can be a good time when I'm in the mood, and sometimes I go just to stave off isolation. But an introvert's dilemma is that we might not get a lot of invitations for the kind of socializing we like to do, which is the kind of socializing other like to do. Because, let’s face it: we’re introverts. We’re probably all at home waiting to be invited to do introvert things. Which means of course, that none of us are getting the invitations we want.

After all, which people are most likely to extend invitations? Extroverts. And those invitations are very likely to be for extrovert-friendly doings.

If you don't have any introverted besties with whom casual get-togethers are easy – or even not-so casual get-togethers – finding introvertish people to do introvertish things with isn’t all that easy. Do you see the Catch 22? The kind of people you want to hang out with are the kind of people who are perfectly happy hanging out alone.

Except after a while, even introverts are ready to get a little quality face time. And so there we all sit, in our rooms, waiting for an invitation that sounds just right to drift over the transom.

Except, bummer…it doesn’t happen like that. Unless you put some effort into nurturing specific relationships—relationships that might not be the easiest ones to develop with people who might not be easy to find—the invitations most likely to materialize are from people who invite everyone to the party.

It’s a predicament that only we can solve for ourselves. And that means putting on our big girl (or boy) pants and reaching out to likely suspects. Shooting an email to someone you might not know that well yet but would like to. Or the person who you always enjoy but never seem to get together with. You know how every time you see each other you promise that you’ll get together for lunch soon? Soon is now.

I’m not suggesting this is easy. First it requires . Then it requires gumption. Then it requires getting over any self-consciousness. Then it requires actually sending an email. (Because, after all, this is an introvert you’re inviting. The telephone wouldn’t be appropriate.)

Here are some tips: Don’t just suggest that the two of you “get together sometime.” You know that never works. Suggest something specific. Something introvertish. Lunch or drinks or dinner. The theater. A museum exhibit you’re wanting to see. In my experience, it’s a lot easier to say “yes” to a specific activity than to an ambiguous “let’s make a plan.”

The trouble with introvertish invitations as opposed to invitations is that they are intimate. Rather than being broadcast far and wide via Facebook, they are one on one (or maybe a small group.) This makes them kind of scary. They make me feel vulnerable. They have the potential to go all awkward.

But if they do work, then maybe, just maybe, the next invitation that comes your way will be for something that sounds like good, quiet, introvert fun.

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My book, The Introvert's Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World, is available for pre-order on Amazon. It will be released December 4, 2012, just in time for party/festive/family-togetherness season. You know you need it.

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