Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts

by Susan Cain

During his junior year, he worked with a West Point psychologist who helped athletes improve their performances. He was surprised to realize how fascinating psychology could be. There was so much to learn about the power of positive thinking, the importance of setting goals, and how to stay calm and play well under pressure. What truly caught Jeff’s attention was a technique called visualization. This required quiet focus and imagination: In his head, Jeff would play a mental video of what he hoped would happen on the field. When he was in the psychologist’s office, he would watch highlight reels of his own games and imagine himself making his best plays again. Prior to big games, Jeff and his assistant coach would watch videos of the team’s opponents to better understand how they played. Jeff looked for holes in their defensive schemes, or bad tendencies on the part of the players, then imagined himself exploiting them, rushing past them for a goal or an easy assist to a teammate. Then, right before the games, while some of his teammates were yelling or shouting to get themselves ready, Jeff would quietly put on his headphones, sit by himself, and start visualizing. He’d recall those old highlight reels, and in his mind he’d run through the opponents’ defense, making play after play. Those last two years of Jeff’s college career, when he’d mastered visualization, were his best ones as an athlete. He was twice named to the All-American team and he broke the West Point reco...