I Prefer Listening To Talking,

Whoever You Are, Bear In Mind That Appearance Is Not Reality. Some People Act Like Extroverts, But The Effort Costs Them Energy, Authenticity, And Even Physical Health. Others Seem Aloof Or Self-contained, But Their Inner Landscapes Are Rich And Full Of Drama. So The Next Time You See A Person With A Composed Face And A Soft Voice, Remember That Inside Her Mind She Might Be Solving An Equation, Composing A Sonnet, Designing A Hat. She Might, That Is, Be Deploying The Powers Of Quiet.

Introversion- Along With Its Cousins Sensitivity, Seriousness, And Shyness- Is Now A Second-class Personality Trait, Somewhere Between A Disappointment And A Pathology. Introverts Living In The Extrovert Ideal Are Like Women In A Man's World, Discounted Because Of A Trait That Goes To The Core Of Who They Are. Extroversion Is An Enormously Appealing Personality Style, But We've Turned It Into An Oppressive Standard To Which Most Of Us Feel We Must Conform.

A Widely Held, But Rarely Articulated, Belief In Our Society Is That The Ideal Self Is Bold, Alpha, Gregarious. Introversion Is Viewed Somewhere Between Disappointment And Pathology.

We're Told That To Be Great Is To Be Bold, To Be Happy Is To Be Sociable. We See Ourselves As A Nation Of Extroverts - Which Means That We've Lost Sight Of Who We Really Are. Depending On Which Study You Consult, One Third To One Half Of Americans Are Introverts - In Other Words, One Out Of Every Two Or Three People You Know.

Love Is Essential, Gregariousness Is Optional.