Daily Times

A world where extroversion is vastly gazed at as a God-gifted trait and introversion an ill-fated one, writer and lecturer Susan Cain, in her book Quiet dabs out this shared belief united in the majority of the societies.

Susan Cain is the Sunday Times bestselling author of her debut book The Quite and a clinical psychologist. She began writing The Quite in 2005. According to her talk at TED, she took seven years of research to complete this book. Her thesis falls on the matter of digging up the understanding that how powerful introverts are in a world where their talents and inner gifts are severely stifled.

Susan Cain logically segregates the variance amid an introvert and extrovert from head to toe in her book. Her seven years’ research can be well-witnessed in the book by the gargantuan sums of data and subjective stories she carries upon. She clears her message as saying that introverts and extroverts are biologically wired.

Most societies value extroverts, the ones who like parties, are fun and are talkative and dislike or give amendments to introverts who are shy, quiet and solitude seekers. An extrovert uplifts through friends, family, parties and being the centre of attention while an introvert only needs a quiet place to think over the universal questions alone. In a world where extroversion is measured a gift, from parents to teachers all arouse the idea that introverts need to be like extroverts means talkative. Many cultures don’t know the fact that introversion is not a matter of psychological wiring but biological and according to Susan, they need to realise this emotionally that introverts must be left with what they are pleased with meaning solitude.

Most societies value extroverts, the ones who like parties, are fun and are talkative and dislike or criticise introverts who are shy, quiet and solitude seekers. An extrovert uplifts through friends, family, parties and being the centre of attention while an introvert only needs a quiet place to think over the universal questions alone

I myself is an Introvert and I find parties, picnics and group discussions too energy draining. Many people call this a disease without having any knowledge of what introversion is. Ironically, most extroverts force introverts like us, to act in an extroverted way and be open. Many times introverts act in an extroverted way only to match in some situations but deep down they know that their natural way is more quite than they appear to be. I was thoroughly pleased and happy after reading the book; it carried a huge understanding of me.

Although, Cain herself describes herself an introvert and the reason behind the book is too the fact how the people have made the Extroversion the model point of a society. According to Cain and her research, most successful people in the world are Introverts. For instance, nearly most significant ones are, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, JK Rowling, Ellon Musk and Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) etc. The reason introverts become more successful than Extroverts, is because of the energy they put in their activities. Introverts put their energy being alone and thinking for ideas while Extroverts put their energy on parties, friends and etc. Now of course it does not mean Extroverts don’t become successful or don’t come in the calculating, it only simplifies the point that how Introverts are seen in a society where they are warned to change themselves rather than be themselves.

Another fact Cain wipes off is most people think shy and quite people are nuts. However, the society thinks that those who talk and are cool remain fit in the society while Introverts who unlike coming in the scenes of talking and talking part in discussion are seen as unfit and ill. For this reason, most introverts feel guilt and constantly blame themselves unlike their huge ideas they have but are afraid to share all because of the pressure the society puts on them.

The book presents such amazing real life stories that help understand a reader that how powerful introverts are and how people need to grasp the fact that people need not to complain about the Introverts but escalate the way they are.

Lastly, Cain suggests parents and extrovert people to accept the fact that being an introvert is a genetic wiring. For instance, being alone for an extrovert is equal to being in hell similarly for an introvert, being in public and around a lot of people is equal to hell too. So, introverts must be appreciated by whatever they are so they could be the next people who would make the world a better place like mentioned above. And I recommend this book to both introverts to read and understand themselves and to extroverts to read and understand the fact that being an introvert is natural and it must be cooperatively acknowledged.

The writer is a student of literature at Turbat University and can be reached at awais.n.bahar@gmail.com