I loved my conversation with Susan Cain in our New York studios. Her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking taps into our growing need for unplugging and recharging -- big themes of our Healthy Living section. The book has been on the New York Times' bestseller list since January, and Susan's TED Talk, "The Power of Introverts," has been watched more than 1.7 million times. Here is the video of our interview. Let us know what your favorite ways are to find quiet in your life.
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Paul A. Campbell and Hamet Watt: GPS for the Soul: From Point A to Point bLife
I enjoy reading your articles
I am looking forward to read more..
http://open.salon.com/blog/dianasenechal/2012/04/08/twitter_and_loss_of_solitude
This all feeds a hunch that introverts differ widely from each other, as do extroverts.
http://open.salon.com/blog/dianasenechal/2012/04/08/twitter_and_loss_of_solitude
To me, there's a distinction between introversion and extroversioni but great variety within each group. So you can't say for sure that introverts dislike parties and open-space work plans or that extroverts always need to talk things out.
I learned (don't recall the source) that introverts recharge by being alone. Extroverts recharge by being with others. I am soooo introverted.
This is one of the problems I tend to have with "introverts"...they are too preachy. There is nothing wrong with enjoying your life and having fun with friends and family. Being an extrovert isn't all about partying. I can laugh with my friends by doing something as simple as moving furniture while listening to music. I enjoy being around a diverse group of people. How exactly is that "heading for trouble"?
Extroverts know how to have quiet moments. With me, it's going to a used bookstore, reading on a ferry/train, or exercising/taking in all of this natural beauty that surrounds me. People like me know when to turn up the personality, and we also know when to tone it down. I just annoys me that some introverts think we're just mindless robots who constantly need *action*. Nothing could be further from the truth.
You're obviously proud of the type of person you are. That's great.
At the same time, as an introvert who has needed to act like an extrovert in order to remain employed, surely you have seen the negative light in which introverts are often shown. The preaching has always been on the other foot.
The problem I see (and I'm strictly going by personal experience here) is that introverts generally don't give non-intros a chance, whereas extroverts are open to accepting anyone in their inner circle. And it's not about "trying to change" people; we just like to expose people to some of the things we experience/see/hear. Of course, introverts have the absolute right to reject any part of a social or professional setting, but don't castigate those of us who are open to being a part of those circles.
Extros and intros both have value. It would be boring if everyone acted the same. The critical question is how can both sides work together without each group (1) losing their personal identities and (2) disrespecting each other's POV?
To be honest, I don't care for the extro/intro titles. I think they divide people and cause an us -vs- them mentality. Lord knows we have enough of that already. I don't give personality tests before extending friendship (personal or professional) to anyone. If you're cool with me, then you're cool with me. If not, then keep it moving *shrugs*.
But I really wanted to comment on your micro-bio. I'm a bass lover myself and I'd put the late, great Mick Karn at the top of the Bass Gods list. I was gutted when he passed away last year.
Every concert roadtrip I plan includes a mixture of high and low-octane pre and post concert activities. We're not robots; we're human, we like to socialize (in our own way), and we have a variety of interests.
Yes, Mick Karn was indeed a Bass God. I couldn't believe it when I got the tweet re: his death. I always had my fingers crossed that he would collaborate with a band like The Virgin Prunes or something, or any artist that is known for performance art.
I love bassists...their sound, their swag, the grooves, their style. Everytime I order concert tix from Ticketmaster or Stubhub, I pull up the seating chart and immediately start looking at the section on the bass player's side. Do you play bass, like a weekend band sort of thing?
When one of my sons was 6, the principal called me in and said that he wasn't participating on the playground games....he descibed him as "a feet-planted observer." And he wanted me to urge him into games. I questioned my son to find out if he were being excluded, but that didn't seem to be the case. He WANTED to observe, and his observations made the other kids laugh. His friends were always coming to our house to play and he got his share of invites to birthday parties. I called a the mothers of a few of his friends, and all said that he was a delightful child, a generous one. My conclusion was that it was a big fuss over nothing.
In my work, the "shy" kids who had bad adult outcomes were the ones who seemed to be in a shell, and who would attack anybody who tried to penetrate that shell. We need another word to describe that particular personality.
I've always taken shyness to be a reticence to interact with others based on fear. In the case of introverts and your son, there is no fear. It's imo complete openness and even interaction, but in a different setting.
For creating space and turning down the tempo, I wholeheartedly recommend ambient music. Start with Vidna Obmana's River of Appearance.
This seems to work well for others. It didn't work very well for me. My life consisted of a lot of activity but not really much true accomplishment.
Then I got sick and the Universe made it loud and clear that it wasn't going to let Hunkin go, go go any more like the Energizer Bunny on steroids.
Last year I bought an older motor coach and have been giving it a lot of love, fixing it up with thoughts of launching a book and going on a nation wide speaking tour.
After never being far from the center of attention for most of my life I find that I can go for a whole week without talking to anyone other than the lady down the street at the grocery store. For almost a year I have been mostly with only my own thoughts.
It's amazing how much of a book you can write while you're upside down under a sink fixing the plumbing.
questions that render a prolix person dumb, are king.
“find quiet in your life”
by taking a walk in the park. Then if walking, thinking, and chewing gum prove too enervating a compendium of endeavours. Sit down, and dispense with the gum.
“First half, second half.”
Life is not a game of two halves. Wait not for the fulltime whistle. But, at the sound of each paradox change ends.
“Conviction is the answer to everything.”
Correction: Conviction is, mistaken at the full extent of one’s lungs.
“Mathematicians are a vehi(cle?)…”
Blood sugar is an indispensable fuel for powering mental matriculation.
“Truth resonates”
Because its testable resemblance to reality strikes a chord.
For these are the ones, that have not found theirselves.
But breath of your life as fortune and fame.
Truth resonates as others look away.
But a game ensues, as comical waste puts them in place.
An introverts bothered time, but an extroverts rhyme.