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A widely held, but rarely articulated, belief in our society is that the ideal self is bold, alpha, gregarious. Introversion is viewed somewhere between disappointment and pathology.

Susan Cain

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Susan Cain
Age: 56
Born: 1968
Born: March 20
Lawyer
Non-Fiction Writer
Writer
Held
Pathology
Ideals
Gregarious
Somewhere
Viewed
Belief
Widely
Society
Bold
Introversion
Self
Rarely
Articulated
Disappointment
Alphas
Ideal
Alpha

More quotes by Susan Cain

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When you go to a football game and someone offers you a beer [...], they're really saying hi, have a glass of extroversion.
Susan Cain
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We're told that to be great is to be bold, to be happy is to be sociable. We see ourselves as a nation of extroverts - which means that we've lost sight of who we really are. Depending on which study you consult, one third to one half of Americans are introverts - in other words, one out of every two or three people you know.
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Introverts living under the Extroversion Ideal are like women in a man's world, discounted because of a trait that goes to the core of who they are.
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I've wanted to be a writer since I was four years old!
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There is no one more courageous than the person who speaks with the courage of his convictions.
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Another study, of 38,000 knowledge workers across different sectors, found that the simple act of being interrupted is one of the biggest barriers to productivity. Even multitasking, that prized feat of modern-day office warriors, turns out to be a myth.
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Introversion - along with its cousins sensitivity, seriousness, and shyness - is now a second-class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology.
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Every American was to become a performing self.
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It's never a good idea to organize society in a way that depletes the energy of half the population.
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We often marvel at how introverted, geeky, kid 'blossom' into secure and happy adults. We liken it to a metamorphosis. However, maybe it's not the children who change but their environments. As adults they get to select the careers, spouses, and social circles that suit them. They don't have to live in whatever culture they'er plunked into.
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Evangelicalism has taken the Extrovert Ideal to its logical extreme...If you don't love Jesus out loud, then it must not be real love. It's not enough to forge your own spiritual connection to the divine it must be displayed publicly.
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We don't need giant personalities to transform companies. We need leaders who build not their own egos but the institutions they run.
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Though shyness per se was unacceptable, reserve was a mark of good breeding.
Susan Cain
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...true self-esteem comes from competence, not the other way around.
Susan Cain
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Love is essential, gregariousness is optional.
Susan Cain
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Jealousy is an ugly emotion, but it tells the truth. You mostly envy those who have what you desire.
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The purpose of school should be to prepare kids for the rest of their lives, but too often what kids need to be prepared for is surviving the school day itself.
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There are only a few people out there who can completely overcome their fears, and they all live in Tibet.
Susan Cain
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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 you’re focused on a project that you care about, you probably find that your energy is boundless.
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...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