In our extrovert-loving society it may not be apparent that being an introvert is a good thing.
Many people consider introversion as a second-class personality trait along with sensitivity and shyness, somewhere between disappointment and a pathology. (Cain, 2013).
In addition, research found that being talkative is associated with being smarter, better-looking, interesting, and successful.
However if you like to spend time by yourself, engaging in quiet activities, and rather listen than talk, you have a lot of positive qualities for a happy and fulfilling life.
According to psychologist H. Eysenck, introverts need less stimulation from their environment to stay alert. Introverts are physiologically more sensitive to noise, emotions, and stimuli in general.
Also, research suggests that one out of every two or three Americans are introverts.
This post was inspired by the book Quiet, The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.
Before taking a look of why being an introvert is a good thing, here are some extraordinary introverts.
Famous Introverts
Warren Buffet
J.K. Rowling
Elon Musk
Emma Watson
Bill Gates
Eleanor Roosevelt
Steve Wozniak
Rosa Parks
Steven Spielberg
Meryl Streep
Albert Einstein
Mark Zuckerberg
Abraham Lincoln
Mahatma Gandhi
Why Being an Introvert is a Good Thing
Introverts enjoy time by themselves absorbed in their own interests. They don’t need external stimulation to feel at their best.
1 – Creativity
“Artists work best alone. Work alone.”
Steve Wozniak (cofounder of apple)
Introverts prefer to work alone in a quiet space.
In addition, according to psychologist Eysenck “introversion concentrates the mind on the task at hand and prevents dissipation of energy on matters unrelated to work.”
In his memoir, iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing it. Steve Wozniak shares his advice about creativity:
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.
Nowadays creativity is associated with open spaces, group work, and interactions. However, constantly interacting with others and being in the spotlight can distract you from connecting seemingly unrelated ideas that may lead to new discoveries.
Historically, people with the most creative ideas worked by themselves in a quiet place.
Also, creativity needs uninterrupted time to come up with imaginative ideas to solve a problem.
If you are interested in creativity you may want to read How to Be More Creative by Stealing Like an Artist.
2 – Focused Attention
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
Albert Einstein
According to psychologist Carl Jung, introverts are interested in their own thoughts and feelings. They focus on the meaning of what happens around them.
In addition, introverts like to work slowly and concentrate on the task at hand.
According to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, highly creative people have a single-minded focus on arts, science, business or any subject of their interest.
When introverts are focused on a project that they care they can persevere despite difficulties or long hours.
3 – Insightful Problem Solving
Even though introverts are not smarter than extroverts they use their cognitive abilities differently.
Extroverts are better at handling information overload. They use 90% of their cognitive ability on the task at hand. This is a good approach for solving goal-directed tasks.
On the other hand introverts use only 75% of their cognitive ability on the task at hand. They use the 25% for monitoring the task.
Introverts spend more time thinking, analyzing, and processing the task. This makes them stay on task longer and persevere despite difficulties.
In addition, introverts wonder about problems and imagine different situations. They also recall experiences from their past and make plans for the future.
Introverts are better at making a plan, staying with the plan, and being disciplined.
The ability to insightfully solve problems is another reason of why being an introvert is a good thing.
4 – Empathy
Empathy is simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of you’re not alone.
Brene Brown
Another good thing about being an introvert is the ability to put yourself into other people’s shoes.
Introverts are in close contact with their feelings and can sense the feelings of others.
As they are more connected with their thoughts and feelings they are better listeners. Introverts can understand other people’s problems and help to find a solution.
In addition, introverts listen, gather information, and think before they speak.
This makes for great friends and therapists who need to understand what the other person is going through and help to come up with a solution.
5 – Passion for Thought
I have to remark, by the way, that there is at least one thing the introvert can do better than the extrovert, and that is thinking.
Carl Jung
When things go wrong or don’t work out as expected, it helps to slow down and analyze the situation to find out what is not working or what needs to be different.
Taking some time to reflect will help to learn from that experience. It is important to take time to consider issues that may come up and develop a plan.
Also, introverts take time to compare new information with their initial expectations. This helps to figure out what the problem might be. Comparing the outcome with their expectations provides information on what the problem might be.
Now that you know why it is a good thing to be an introvert, embrace your strengths and use them to your advantage.
Many successful introverts team up with an extrovert who will be excited to take care of the overstimulating tasks.
Introverts and extroverts work best together when they are aware of their strengths and how to complement each other.
This post is based on the book Quiet, The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
What are your areas of strengths? Let me know in the comments below.
As an introvert, I thank you for this!
oh wow, Elon Musk!!! I had no idea, this is very interesting….I am somehow an introvert and it doesn’t bother me at all….
While I do enjoy hanging out with my friends and going out (pre-COVID, of course), I do find I’m predominantly introverted.
I am definitely an introvert but I learned to be a bit more extravert over the years 🙂