We live in a society that favours extroverts. At lease, pre-pandemic. Now that we’ve all been forced to isolate, many people are beginning to see the up side of introversion. Introverts like solitude. In fact, it’s as necessary as water and food to the introvert – to have solitude. Extroverts like to be with other people, to bounce ideas off other people. They tend to fidget when isolated, having a hard time being their only company. Karl Jung spoke of this difference, noting that these traits are on a continuum, and that being only an introvert or an extrovert would lead to insanity. Despite what our society might favour, each of us, simply because of who we are, have something unique and valuable to offer the world. In our society, extroverts are often seen as ‘natural leaders’, so that if you want a leadership position, you need to somehow be more outgoing. For an introvert, that’s painful and rarely works out well, because the introvert is trying to be someone they aren’t. The real point is this: both introverts and extroverts … and all those in-between – have something that enriches all of us, if they are working in a way that works for them. Instead of trying to be someone you aren’t in order to fit into someone else’s view of what’s good, I’d like to encourage you and myself to nourish and really value what and who you are naturally. It’s often said that what grows is whatever we encourage and support. That’s true, as long as what we support is also what is natural. This blog is based on the ted talk linked below, and I’d like to end the blog by quoting the speaker Susan Cain in her summing up on the power of introverts (and of each of us, no matter how we express ourselves): “The world needs you and it needs the things you carry (inside you)” If you are ready to embrace your inner introvert, click here to get support.

The power of introverts