As an introvert, you probably spent more time standing outside the group looking on as they played a game, exchanged stories, or gleefully ran through sprinklers in a public park. However, most non-introverts don’t realize that you were as much a part of those activities as they were, even standing silent on the outside looking in.

Introverts often need some distance and quiet to maintain a pleasant equilibrium between the introverted and extroverted worlds. But that doesn’t mean introverts aren’t part of the extroverted activities or experience less joy than their extroverted counterparts.

Spectators at a football game aren’t on the field catching passes or tackling quarterbacks, yet they experience the game as if they were. So much so they’re willing to pay big money for the thrills of watching and feeling part of the experience. Listen as fans leave the ballpark.

That’s how introverts experience an extroverted world from within their comfort zone. Their heightened sense of empathy lets them feel all of the thrills, frustrations, challenges, and triumphs from the sidelines. It’s our superpower, the power to wholly enjoy anything an extrovert can enjoy without the stress of having to mingle with the crowd.

I wrote this at Myrtle Beach, SC, a fun-filled area with tons of amusements where I brought my daughter and her friends for years. Without them, my wife and I mostly go for quiet walks on the beach and through a local botanical garden.

But when we want the thrill of those more exciting days, we only have to walk or drive through the hot spots. We feel the joy of parents and kids screaming on rides, their thrill of winning cute trinkets from skeeball, and licking cones of ice cream before they melt.

It’s difficult to explain this superpower to non-introverts. But the next time you see a kid standing on the sidelines looking at the action, don’t feel sorry for her or try to push him into the crowd. Feel their joy and respect their superpower.