I stumbled upon
this article about quiet people and the assumptions you may make about then. Truth is, I tend to be one of these"quiet" people. I have never really thought of how this comes off to others. Partly because I am not always the quiet one, depending on the social setting. However, I was forced to think about it after a student conference with my professor yesterday. She said I was doing great and to keep up the good work. She also said that I am quiet, and she wants to hear my voice more. Okay, I thought. I could speak up more. But I am not silent. I do talk, not as much as others, but more than some. So what does my "quiet personality" say about me? That I am smart? That I am an introvert? That I lack confidence? The article does a good job dispelling the myths. If you are interested in the topic, it's a good read.
The other thing I want to touch on are the words introvert and extrovert. Everyone assumes that an introvert is quiet, shy, keeps to themselves and doesn't like people too much. Same goes for extrovert, just opposite: loud, life of party, center of attention, doesn't like to be alone. However,
Carl Jung was the first to come up with these ideas. He described these terms not in the way we act, but how we
perceive the world. An introvert is one who looks inside themselves for direction. They tend to feel their way through things more. An extrovert is someone who looks to the outside world for direction. They rely more on what others are doing as a source of direction. Therefore you can have an extrovert(looking to others for a source of energy) who is actually more quiet and emotional, but still wants to follow the "popular" path. And you can have an introvert(looking to themselves) who is loud and boisterous, maybe the leader of the group. Pretty interesting when you stop to think about it. Which term do you think describes you better?
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| Carl Jung-more of an introvert |
