Quiet: The Power Of Introverts

General psychology holds some of my fondest memories from my high school days, most prevalent being when my professor offered several personality tests to take for extra credit. Being the typical overachiever, I decided to take part, and I chose the Carl Jung personality test. I’ve always felt more comfortable sitting in a corner, away from the spotlight, and the farthest from the center of attention as I could be, so naturally I expected that to be reflected in my results. I was not disappointed. The test reported that I was undoubtedly an introvert. This had no major impact on my life and I continued on as if nothing had ever happened. Susan Cain challenged this with her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
This story brings to light the rise of the “extrovert ideal,” and society’s desire for bold and entertaining people. Before Carnegie’s time, Western culture was still a culture of character, where the ideal person was serious, disciplined, and honorable. Back then, what counted was how you behaved in private, not necessarily your public impression. With the evolution of people like Carnegie around the twentieth century came the transition of Western culture to this culture of personality that we have today, where those same ideals seem to be undervalued. Even within my own family, I am consistently told I am too serious and not lighthearted enough. I care about how I conduct myself at all times, even in the privacy of my own home, and prefer to keep to myself over socializing. Finding that my ideals conflict with this idea of a culture of personality, I felt like a bit of an outcast, and the whole idea of introvert oppression became a legitimate issue for me. In the second chapter, aptly named “the myth of charismatic leadership,” Cain elaborates on the “extrovert ideal” in respect to leadership, and how it ostracizes
Her anecdotes are insightful and her remarks are witty, and my only complaint would be perhaps that there is too many stories. If I have taken away anything from Quiet, it is that in the debate of introverts vs. extroverts, there is no winner. The way to overcome the oppression of introverts is to educate society of just how essential introverts are. Introverts possess countless talents, not to mention numerous good ideas, and simply because they aren’t the loudest in the group doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be heard. In Quiet, Cain opened my eyes to exactly what it means to be an introvert in an extroverted world, and through dedicated research as well as insightful anecdotes Cain taught me the power of being quiet, and how to wield that power to my advantage. As Cain stated in her conclusion paragraph, “love is essential, gregariousness is optional.” Just because the world has adopted the “extrovert ideal” does not mean all introverts must conform to it. We as a society need to embrace each other, and use well the kind of power we have been granted. Cain makes what is in my opinion one of the best analogies of the entire book in her conclusion, comparing introverts to Alice, saying that introverts are “offered keys to private gardens full of riches” and to have such a key would be akin to Alice falling down her rabbit hole. Just like Alice did not choose to go to Wonderland, introverts do not