Indeed, your biggest challenge may be to fully harness your strengths. You may be so busy trying to appear like a zestful, reward-sensitive extrovert that you undervalue your own talents, or feel underestimated by those around you. But when youโre focused on a project that you care about, you probably find that your energy is boundless.
Susan Cain...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 CainI get a lot of letters from introverts asking how they can meet people. The key is to make sure that you are doing things you enjoy.
Susan CainThe emphasis is on community, on participating in more and more programs and events, on meeting more and more people. Itโs a constant tension for many introverts that theyโre not living that out. And in a religious world, thereโs more at stake when you feel that tension. It doesnโt feel like โIโm not doing as well as Iโd like.โ It feels like โGod isnโt pleased with me.โ
Susan CainPsychologists usually offer three explanations for the failure of group brainstorming. The first is social loafing: in a group, some individuals tend to sit back and let others do the work. The second is production blocking: only one person can talk or produce an idea at once, while the other group members are forced to sit passively. And the third is evaluation apprehension, meaning the fear of looking stupid in front of one's peers.
Susan Cain