Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

Enrichment and empowerment cannot be fully developed unless one their ability to do one thing: to be reflective. Contemplation is not reserved for monks, theorists, or philosophy professors. It’s a super fascinating insight into human behavior from decades of Cain’s official and unofficial research and thousands of people she has come in the contact and their stories and their behavior.

This a way deeper subject than I ever thought about. It appears at every junction in human history. Strength through acting on well-reasoned thought. Or rash impulsiveness on the other end of our more base instincts: Fast-talkers, over-talkers, somehow has been confused with smart, powerful, good looking. Impossible to believe but research bears out the bear in the room gets the most respect and on the sliding scale the mouse is ignored perceived as ignorant. We sure are a mighty smart bunch to think we humans are that insipid but I digress.

I really liked how she showed extremes fitting examples to provide context for each in the introduction. After years backbreaking work euphemistically referred to as “a domestic or servant” labor then taking the abuse riding around on the long city bus ride back home, Mrs. Rosa Parks sat in the first row of the “colored” the back section required by law for “people of color” to sit. She told by the bus driver to give up her seat to a white passenger and after a thoughtful pause said, “No.” Her quiet thoughtful response lit the match to the civil rights movement in the United States.

Forty-fours years later Mrs Rosa Parks 2000 book release, Quiet Strength, was followed up on receiving on June 15, 1999 The Congressional Medal of Honor. Both an amazing international human rights figure, an example of quiet strength and such a poor commentary on human’s worst instincts and ease at which suppression goes unabated and unpunished. She was described as soft-spoken, sweet and small in stature. Like Gandhi. Expect nothing, be appreciate of everything and use your voice for human decency, not to make a point but because it needed to be done by someone. . Mrs. Park’s needed to get arrested not to open the eyes of the world but because she was tired and it wasn’t fair. Unbelievably inspirational and unbelievably appalling.

On the other end of Ms Cain’s introvert/extrovert continuum is the stereotypical existential threat of an extreme extrovert that is the elephant in the room. The consummate,  loud mouthed dictatorial pile-driving extroverted lout frequent domineering behavior causes subservience. Not all the time but it’s surprisingly on the spectrum significantly represented. Other obvious examples are violent sports, megalomaniacs, and insecure bosses.

There’s a lot on this bone and clear why it’s such a big seller, it explains things we don’t really think about everyday insults, slights, uplifting and quiet moments that its possible how to put it in a box that makes sense and life more explainable.