Quote (for an introvert :)
“Now that you’re an adult, you might still feel a pang of guilt when you decline a dinner invitation in favor of a good book. Or maybe you like to eat alone in restaurants and could do without the pitying looks from fellow diners. Or you’re told that you’re “in your head too much”, a phrase that’s often deployed against the quiet and cerebral. Of course, there’s another word for such people: thinkers.”
To be fair, this is a revolutionizing book to me. First, the book defines introversion in a clear way and corrects some common misunderstandings: “The word introvert is not a synonym for hermit or misanthrope.” “Nor are introverts necessarily shy. Shyness is the fear of social disapproval or humiliation, while introversion is a preference for environments that are not overstimulating.”
The book then talks about the power of introverts, despite the fact that this society rewards extroversion more than introversion (for example, an introverted kid is likely to be seen as “problematic” because he doesn’t socialize with friends much; employers are more likely to hire a sociable “team player” with better networking skills).
The book club had a fruitful and exploration about introverts and extroverts. Not surprisingly, the majority of the group (who came to the meeting) are introverts (Yay!) except for one claimed as an “ambivert”. It’s not surprising to me because introverts are thinkers. “While extroverts tend to attain leadership in public domains, introverts tend to attain leadership in theoretical and aesthetic fields.”
It’s funny that most of the group laughed at “brainstorming” as a common practice in companies and teams– which wouldn’t work according to the author. Some of us shared experience about another interesting point from the book – how people with Asian background struggle more in the America’s Extrovert Ideal, because “the traditional Asian attitudes to the spoken word: talk is for communicating need-to-know information; quiet and introspection are signs of deep thought and higher truth”. It was such a lively and fun discussion.
-- Lisa Liang
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