Introverts create more value for society

By Gordon Lightfoot

导读:性格内向，其实并不是一件坏事，事实上，内向的人还能为社会创造更多的价值。

Speak up!Put yourself out there!American society generally places high value on being friendly and speaking freely.That can worry introverts.Introverts are people who tend to be more private and favor individual activities over social ones.

Susan Cain,an introvert herself,is an expert on the subject.She has become the voice of these quiet people.In 2012,her book, “Quiet:The Power of the Introvert in a World that Can’t Stop Talking”,was a success.

In her new book,“Quiet Power:The Secret Strengths of Introverts”,Cain takes her hopeful message about introverts to teenagers.She says her goal is to help parents and teachers understand their introvert teens and develop their secret power.

Introverted children are not necessarily shy.In fact,they can have excellent social skills.They just tend to enjoy being alone,doing quieter things or being with just one friend at a time.Susan Cain says that is how introverts get their energy.Their human“batteries” are actually weakened by loud,busy activities.“If you imagine an introvert going to a party where they’re having a good time.At the end of two hours,you kind of start to wish you were home in your pajamas because your battery is running low.Whereas for extroverts in the exact same situation,their batteries are getting recharged.So they kind of want more time at the party.This has everything to do with how we’re wired;how our nervous systems react to stimulation.”Cain says the idea that extroverts are more successful than introverts is widespread but wrong.

说话！逼着自己说话！美国社会通常很看重与人为善和言论自由。这让内向的人很担心。内向的人通常更喜欢独来独往，与社会活动相比更喜欢自己活动。

苏珊就是一个内向的人，同时也是这方面专家。她已经成为说出内向者心声的人。她2012年出版的书《安静:内向性格的竞争力》大获成功。

在她的这本新书中，她向青少年讲述了内向型格的优势。她说她的目标是帮助父母和老师理解内向型格的孩子，并助力发展他们的秘密潜能。

孩子性格内向并不代表他们害羞。事实上，他们可能有卓越的社交技能。他们只是表现出更愿意自己待着、安静做事或者一次只和一个朋友在一起。苏珊说，这是内向性格的人获得能量的方式。他们的能量“电池”会因为参与吵闹繁忙的活动而被削弱。“试想一个内向性格的人去参加派对。两个小时的派对接近尾声时，你可能开始希望你已经穿着睡衣在家了，因为你的能量值已经极低。而同样的情况对于外向的人来说却是一种充电的状态。所以他们希望能在派对上度过更多的时光。这就与他们的电路体系组成有关，与我们神经系统对刺激的反应有关”。苏珊说，有一种普遍的观点认为外向性格的人要比内向性格的人更加成功，这种观点是错误的。

“如果我们环顾四周，会发现内向性格的人以不同方式对人类文化做出贡献，比如比尔·盖茨、J.K.罗琳、苏斯博士等，能说得上数的都是内向型格的人。”苏珊说，这些人之所以对社会贡献有佳就是因为他们沉静的性格。不过苏珊这种观点并不广为接受。苏珊说，美国社会迫使每个人都以群居方式来社交，即便有些人的天性并非如此。苏珊说，其实内向性格的人数量之多远超乎人们的想象。

“If you look around,you see introverts contributing to this culture in all kinds of ways,people like Bill Gates and J.K Rowling and Dr.Seuss—any number of people you could name who are introverts.”Cain says these people add much to society because of their quiet temperament.But some how this ideais not widely accepted.The author says American society pushes everyone to be gregarious even if it is not natural for them.Cain says there are more introverts than people think.

“You’re talking about 1 in every 2 or 3 people.That’s in the U.S.But then there are other studies that look comparatively at the world and find that the U.S.is on the more extrovert side of the spectrum.So there are probably more introverts in other countries.”

Susan Cain spoke with hundreds of teens,parents and teachers to explore introversion among teens.One of herimportant findings is that introverts can be effective leaders.

“For example,there was one guywe profiled named Davis,who decided he wanted to run for president of his class.He was running against one of the most popular,social girls in the school who ran on a platform of more parties for everyone.Davis was his characteristic,serious-minded,introverted self,and did a lot of deep thinking about how he can make the school a better place.So he ran on a serious substantive platform of proposals and his classmates really recognized the value of that and ended up voting for him,and he became the class president.”

In her book,Cain gives advice to parents and teachers.She tells parents that introverts usually want to come home at the end of the day and spend time alone.She says they need to recharge their batteries.She says they should not be pushed into after-school activities.

For teachers,she says,introverted students might not succeed in large study groups.“By their nature they prefer to learn independently and autonomously.They don’t want to be learning calculus in a group.They want to be putting their heads down,and thinking a problem through.”

Susan Cain,author of“Quiet Power:The Secret Strengths of Introverts”,says what she wants young readers to take away from her book is that being introverted is not something to outgrow.It is something to accept,develop and treasure.

“估计内向性格的人,两三个人中就有一个吧。这就是美国人的普遍观点。但其实同一时期在世界上的其他国家也有类似的研究，可以发现美国更赞成人类外向性格的属性。其实可能其他国家内向的人数更多。”

苏珊曾与成百上千的青少年、父母、老师交谈，以探究孩子身上的内向性格因素。她有一个重要发现：内向性格的人能成为更有影响力的领导人。

“比如，有一个叫戴维斯的人想要竞选班长。他的竞争对手是全校最受欢迎、社交能力最强的女生。戴维斯是典型的沉思内向型性格，他深入地思考了怎样能让学校变得更好。于是他站上讲台，提出倡议和方案，让他的同学们意识到如果将票投给他会有怎样的效果。于是最后他成了班长。”

苏珊的书也给家长和老师提出了建议。她告诉家长，内向性格的孩子通常在上完一天的课后更愿意自己待在家。她说，他们这样做是为了给自己重新充电。她说父母不应该强迫他们去参加课外活动。

苏珊给老师的建议是，内向性格的孩子在团体学习中可能成绩不突出。“因为他们的性格使他们更愿意独立自主地学习。他们不喜欢以小组形式学习微积分。他们更想要低头沉思问题。”

苏珊的书《安静:内向性格的竞争力》想让年轻人明白，内向性格不是什么坏事。内向性格应该为人所接受、培养并珍惜。