Quiet Quotes

“Though shyness per se was unacceptable, reserve was a mark of good breeding.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“The trick for introverts is to honor their styles instead of allowing themselves to be swept up by prevailing norms.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Should we become so proficient at self-presentation that we can dissemble without anyone suspecting?”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“It can be hard for extroverts to understand how badly introverts need to recharge at the end of a busy day. We all empathize with a sleep-deprived mate who comes home from work too tired to talk, but it’s harder to grasp that social overstimulation can be just as exhausting.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Introverts feel “just right” with less stimulation, as when they sip wine with a close friend, solve a crossword puzzle, or read a book. Extroverts enjoy the extra bang that comes from activities like meeting new people, skiing slippery slopes, and cranking up the stereo.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Use your natural powers—of persistence, concentration, insight, and sensitivity—to do work you love and work that matters. Solve problems, make art, think deeply.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“By the time I was old enough to figure out that I was simply introverted, it was a part of my being, the assumption that there is something inherently wrong with me. I wish I could find that little vestige of doubt and remove it.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Mark Twain once told a story about a man who scoured the planet looking for the greatest general who ever lived. When the man was informed that the person he sought had already died and gone to heaven, he made a trip to the Pearly Gates to look for him. Saint Peter pointed at a regular-looking Joe. “That isn’t the greatest of all generals,” protested the man. “I knew that person when he lived on Earth, and he was only a cobbler.” “I know that,” said Saint Peter, “but if he had been a general, he would have been the greatest of them all.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“...the simple act of being interrupted is one of the biggest barriers to productivity...What looks like multitasking is really switching back and forth between multiple tasks, which reduces productivity and increases mistakes by up to 50 percent.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“In the first study, Grant and his colleagues analyzed data from one of the five biggest pizza chains in the United States. They discovered that the weekly profits of the stores managed by extroverts were 16 percent higher than the profits of those led by introverts—but only when the employees were passive types who tended to do their job without exercising initiative. Introverted leaders had the exact opposite results. When they worked with employees who actively tried to improve work procedures, their stores outperformed those led by extroverts by more than 14 percent.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Do you really believe in what you said or wrote – in the thing that’s bringing criticism? And if I do believe it, I can withstand anything.”
― susan cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Who could be happy in a world of podiums and microphones?”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“If you’re a manager, remember that one third to one half of your workforce is probably introverted, whether they appear that way or not. Think twice about how you design your organization’s office space. Don’t expect introverts to get jazzed up about open office plans or, for that matter, lunchtime birthday parties or team-building retreats. Make the most of introverts’ strengths—these are the people who can help you think deeply, strategize, solve complex problems, and spot canaries in your coal mine. Also, remember the dangers of the New Groupthink. If it’s creativity you’re after, ask your employees to solve problems alone before sharing their ideas. If you want the wisdom of the crowd, gather it electronically, or in writing, and make sure people can’t see each other’s ideas until everyone’s had a chance to contribute. Face-to-face contact is important because it builds trust, but group dynamics contain unavoidable impediments to creative thinking. Arrange for people to interact one-on-one and in small, casual groups. Don’t mistake assertiveness or eloquence for good ideas. If you have a proactive work force (and I hope you do), remember that they may perform better under an introverted leader than under an extroverted or charismatic one.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“In other words, introverts are capable of acting like extroverts for the sake of work they consider important, people they love, or anything they value highly.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Gandhi himself ultimately rejected the phrase “passive resistance,” which he associated with weakness, preferring satyagraha, the term he coined to mean “firmness in pursuit of truth.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Whoever you are, bear in mind that appearance is not reality. Some people are like extroverts, but the effort costs them in energy, authenticity, and even physical health. Others seem aloof or self-contained, but their inner landscapes are rich and full of drama.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Unleashing a passion can transform a life...”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Introverts need to trust their gut and share their ideas as powerfully as they can.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“I need a break after school," she told me later. "School is hard because a lot of people are in the room, so you get tired. I freak out if my mom plans a play date without telling me, because I don't want to hurt my friends' feelings. But I'd rather stay home. At a friend's house you have to do the things other people want to do. I like hanging out with my mom after school because I can learn from her. She's been alive longer than me. We have thoughtful conversations. I like having conversations because they make people happy.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Don’t mistake assertiveness or eloquence for good ideas.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Most inventors and engineers I’ve met are like me—they’re shy and they live in their heads. They’re almost like artists. In fact, the very best of them are artists. And artists work best alone where they can control an invention’s design without a lot of other people designing it for marketing or some other committee. I don’t believe anything really revolutionary has been invented by committee. If you’re that rare engineer who’s an inventor and also an artist, I’m going to give you some advice that might be hard to take. That advice is: Work alone. You’re going to be best able to design revolutionary products and features if you’re working on your own. Not on a committee. Not on a team”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Respect for individual human personality has with us reached its lowest point," observed one intellectual in 1921, "and it is delightfully ironical that no nation is so constantly talking about personality as we are. We actually have schools for 'self-expression' and 'self-development,' although we seem usually to mean the expression and development of a successful real estate agent.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“...if you can think of meetings you've attended, you can probably recall a time - plenty of times - when the opinion of the most dynamic or talkative person prevailed to the detriment of all.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Pay attention to what you envy. Jealousy is an ugly emotion, but it tells the truth. You mostly envy those who have what you desire.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“الأنطوائيون , في المقابل , ربما لديهم مهارات أجتماعية قوية ويتمتعون باللقاء في الحفلات والاعمال , لكن بعد حين يرغبون لو كانوا في قمصان النوم في بيوتهم . أنهم يفضلون تكريس طاقتهم الاجتماعية لأصدقائهم المقربين والزملاء والعائلة , أنهم ينصتون أكثر مما يتكلمون , ويفكرون قبل أن يتكلمون , و يشعرون غالباً أنهم أفضل في التعبير عن أنفسهم في الكتابة أكثر من المحادثة , وهم يكرهون الصراع , وكثير منهم يرعبهم الحوار القصير ولكن يتمتعون بالنقاشات العميقة”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Now that you’re an adult, you might still feel a pang of guilt when you decline a dinner invitation in favor of a good book. Or maybe you like to eat alone in restaurants and could do without the pitying looks from fellow diners.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“We live with a value system that I call the Extrovert Ideal—the omnipresent belief that the ideal self is gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the spotlight.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“I am a horse for a single harness, not cut out for tandem or teamwork … for well I know that in order to attain any definite goal, it is imperative that one person do the thinking and the commanding. —ALBERT EINSTEIN”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“In her book Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, Carol Tavris recounts a story about a Bengali cobra that liked to bite passing villagers. One day a swami—a man who has achieved self-mastery—convinces the snake that biting is wrong. The cobra vows to stop immediately, and does. Before long, the village boys grow unafraid of the snake and start to abuse him. Battered and bloodied, the snake complains to the swami that this is what came of keeping his promise.
“I told you not to bite,” said the swami, “but I did not tell you not to hiss.”
“Many people, like the swami’s cobra, confuse the hiss with the bite,” writes Tavris.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Extroversion is an enormously appealing personality style, but we’ve turned it into an oppressive standard to which most of us feel we must conform.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking