It is sometimes very frustrating to me that we live in a society where being outgoing is valued above just about every other trait. You see a job posting, and what do they want? Someone outgoing. You look at businesses, and who do they want? Leaders. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with being outgoing. In fact, being outgoing can be a great quality. But, what people don't recognize, is that being introverted can be just as great. The world needs both of these qualities, yet American society would have you believe that we only need extroverts.
I may have mentioned here before that I read the book Quiet by Susan Cain. Well, I think it bares mentioning again because I can't say how much this book did for me. It made me understand that there is nothing wrong with being quiet, and that introverts actually have many strengths that extroverts do not.
Even though I now know that being introverted is a good thing, I still have to live in a society that believes otherwise. Almost every job, and school, and social setting is geared toward extroverts, and that can make it very difficult for introverts to shine. It is like being a left-handed person in a crowd of right-handed people. You are just as capable, but you do things a little differently. Yet, things are a little harder for you because everything is made for the right-handed people.
I wish more people could recognize the strengths of introverts rather than pushing them to be like the extroverts. Introverts can be extroverted at times, but it is much more physically and mentally taxing for them than it is for more natural extroverts. So they need a break from always trying to fit into the extroverted mold of society. I hope my blog can help spread the word, in some small way, that the world would benefit from more introverted inclusion. And if you haven't read Quiet yet, get on that!
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