The power of introverts
- Jan 7, 2017
- 4 min read
Last November I read (listened to the audio book) Susan Cain's Quiet, the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking and I can't recommend it enough.
I've known that I'm an introvert for years, ever since I heard the definition that introverts recharge their batteries through solitude whereas extroverts need to be around other people to recharge. I didn't really know much else about it until I read Susan Cain's book. I'm so glad I did because it explained so many things about my character that I'd probably considered to be signs of a weak constitution. Now I know they're just part of the awesomeness that is introverts!
Like, why I can never understand how some people are able to climb to the top of their professions despite clearly being plain bad at their jobs? "What is going on here can no one else see that they're talking nonsense?" I often think to myself.
When you feel like you must be living in an alternate universe
It turns out that while extroverts are comfortable saying the first thing that comes to their heads with complete authority (whether they believe it to be true or not), introverts tend towards considered and rationalised communication. Apparently, our current models of leadership consider good leaders to be quick decision makers, even if the decision they make is the wrong one. That's why it sometimes seems to us introverts that we are living in some kind of alternate universe because nine times out of ten we can see all the millions of variables that really must be considered before any kind of authoritative conclusion can be reached. Instead of thinking, people just seem to follow the (incorrect) opinion of loudest person in the room.
Loving the little things
I'm really not a party animal and hate the idea of going to big gatherings with people I don't know well. Of course I'll go if it's for an occasion that's important to a friend but my presence is usually down to my love of that person rather than any desire to be the life and soul of the party. Fortunately, I'm an adult now and I can drink my way to being more extroverted.
Introverts are sociable in a different way to extroverts. Introverts value deep and meaningful connections with a small number of trusted comrades. My idea of being sociable is to have a quiet dinner with a small number of friends, or share the silent, desolate nature of the desert around a campfire. I also prefer to talk about more 'meaningful' or 'deep' topics and am not very good at small talk. These kind of interactions feed my soul and light me up. Drinking the night away in a crowded club, making small talk with people I hardly know and being generally agreeable is just plain exhausting to me.
Silence is golden
I'm not shy, I'm introverted. Shyness is about the fear of social judgement (and I have never cared what the crowd thought of me). Introversion and extroversion is about how you respond to stimulation, including social stimulation. Introverts feel alive and most capable when they are in quieter, low key environments, whereas extroverts need a lot of external stimulation.
It's all in the neuroscience apparently
Introverts are sensitive to dopamine (a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centres). Extroverts are less sensitive to dopamine and need more stimulation. The more they talk, move and see new faces, the more extroverts feel the dopamine. Introverts prefer to use a different neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is also linked to pleasure but makes us feel good when we turn inward. That's why, although I enjoy parties and marketing events, they exhaust me and I want to go home early and read a book in bed.
The world is a little magical to me. I can get completely caught up in the details around me – the colours in a sun set or the way different birds interact with one another in my garden. So, now I know why I appear dreamy to others.
The introvert's brain also processes things differently. We have longer neural pathways. In an extrovert, information passes through areas of the brain where taste, touch, sight and sound are processed. In an introvert, information passes through many areas, including the area associated with empathy, self reflection and emotional meaning is located; the area which plans speech; the area that selects plans, chooses ideas or actions, develops expectations and evaluates outcomes and the area that stores long term memories. In addition, introverts have brains that are more developed in the area that processes abstract thought and decision making. So, we process information more thoroughly and deeply (which explains my first point too). It also takes us longer to process the information which is why I'm so much better at expressing myself in writing than speaking.
Maybe you're a magical introvert too?
It is estimated that one third to one half of people are introverts. Some famous ones include Eleanor Roosevelt, JK Rowling, Bill Gates, Albert Einstein (who was also dyslexic), Mahatma Gandhi and Rosa Parks (obvs.), Audrey Hepburn, Mark Zuckerberg, Al Gore, Marissa Mayer, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, Barak Obama and Warren Buffet (Matt's all time favourite business man and all round icon).
If you want to know whether you're introverted or extroverted, I think that the free 16 personalities quiz, based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, is really accurate. I've taken it several times and always come out as either an Advocate (Introversion INtuition Feeling Judgment) or an Architect (Introversion, INtuition, Thinking and Judgment) which perfectly describes the two sides to my character. Why not take the test and share which personality you are with me?
Here is a list of resources and references that I used in writing this piece
Susan Cain's Ted Talk (below)
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