The attraction of introverts

From MyNorthwest.com

I'm reading a very interesting book right now, Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain. One of my blogging friends, Linda Letters, mentioned it in a comment to me, and I also mentioned it to my sister Norma Jean. She ordered it from her local library in Florida, and I got on the waiting list at my own library. I was 20 out of 18 copies and had to wait awhile. Finally, after Norma Jean had finished the book and told me what she thought about it, I was able to pick it up at my library yesterday.

I'm already almost halfway through the book, and I've found some fascinating things not only about introverts, but also about extroverts (I'm one). I have always been attracted to introverts, ever since my early childhood when my own very favorite introvert, Norma Jean, was my best friend. She still is, in many ways. I always laughed when I said that I was attracted to introverts because they were such a good audience and never tried to hog the limelight!

But it's more than that, I've discovered. I have often wondered why I sometimes suffer from stage fright, since I'm so extroverted in most situations, but it turns out that it has little to do with shyness. To quote from her book (p. 107):

My fear of public speaking might be equally complex. Do I dread it because I'm a high-reactive introvert? Maybe not. Some high-reactives love public speaking and performing, and plenty of extroverts have stage fright; public speaking is the number-one fear in America, far more common than the fear of death. Public speaking phobia has many causes, including early childhood setbacks, that have to do with our unique personal histories, not inborn temperament.

She explains what she means by having a "high-reactive temperament" in the book, which I won't go into here. Get the book and read it; I think you'll be in for a treat. I know now it's not because I have an introverted streak that I sometimes suffer from stage fright, but because of an early childhood experience where I gave a book report in grade school and was ridiculed. It set me up for a lifetime of having to be completely prepared before I could ever step in front of any audience. It is the only way I knew how to overcome it.

And this is from someone who has taught hundreds of people what they need to know in a First Jump Course over the years. It helped that they were all terrified and I was the experienced one, but just reading this book I've learned more about the vast differences we possess through inborn temperament, as well as personal history and personality. Stage fright has given me a template through which I can relate to what it must feel like to be shy and retiring.

If I could have chosen my temperament, I would have chosen introversion rather than extroversion, and this book has helped me to realize the power of introversion that I have always intuited. By the way, the link under the picture will take you to to Ron and Don, a local radio show that reviewed the book. It's very interesting.

Oh, and before I forget: I was disappointed in the movie Looper, since I was unprepared for all the gratuitous violence that was never mentioned in any of the reviews I read beforehand. It was an okay movie, but the gore turned me totally off, and it was a bit confusing as well. If you see it, let me know what you think of it, but I don't especially recommend it.
:-)