A different energy perspective
Society is wrongly used to treating introverts as fragile, having low self-esteem and being shy. It is just another way of experiencing life. People who are on the introvert end of the personality spectrum are energised when they are on their own, happy with their own thoughts, quiet and deep thinkers who feel drained when forced to be around many people or over stimulated by external factors. Introverts don’t dislike company; they are just very choosy about when they choose to be around others and whom they spend time with.
The cult of personality
The world we live in skewed against introvert personalities and generally forces introverts to conform to extrovert traits to be successful right from nursery school through our modern educational system and this seeps through into our professional working lives in the open plan offices we work in. To be judged successful today, you need to be loud, chatty, and exuberant and you must stand out from the crowd and love stimulating group dynamics, environments and experiences.
We need them both!
The new group think is the norm; the cult of the personality often trumps solitude and quiet contemplation which are frowned on as antisocial and nerdy. This is anathema to introverts. Without introverts we wouldn’t have scientists, philosophers, poets, musicians, writers. Being an introvert does not stop you from being a great leader either, some of our most transformative leaders have been introverts; Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks to name a few.
The world absolutely needs extroverts too but extroversion should not be used as an oppressive standard nor an Alpha personality necessarily confused with competence.
As the Persian Sufi poet Rumi said ”Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder”.
