In Caring for Your Introvert, Jonathan Rauch writes that "Extroverts have little or no grasp of introversion. They assume that company, especially their own, is always welcome. They cannot imagine why someone would need to be alone." Other observations from the article:
- Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not.
- Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone.
- For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay--in small doses."
- Extroverts are easy for introverts to understand, because extroverts spend so much of their time working out who they are in voluble, and frequently inescapable, interaction with other people.
- Are introverts arrogant? Hardly...this common misconception...is probably due to our lack of small talk, a lack that extroverts often mistake for disdain.
- [introverts] tend to think before talking, whereas extroverts tend to think by talking, which is why their meetings never last less than six hours.
- When you see an introvert lost in thought, don't say "What's the matter?" or "Are you all right?"
Thanks to Savannah for the link!
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