Have Faith: You've heard the phrases,"Why are you so quiet?" and "You can't be like this when you grow-up, you won't be successful," so many times you eventually lost count

Monday, March 10, 2014

You've heard the phrases,"Why are you so quiet?" and "You can't be like this when you grow-up, you won't be successful," so many times you eventually lost count

"I just said two sentences worth of words and you still think that's not enough?"

"This was something I kept asking and continue asking myself. There seems to be a limit of words that defines the border line between introvert vs extrovert. I, like so many other introverts, attempted to surpass this word-limit in hopes of entering the so-called bright and happy land of the extrovert. But for some reason no matter how much more we try to speak, it is never enough and all our attempted conversations turn out awkward or so it seems."

You effortlessly entertained yourself with the most efficient gadget -- your mind

While most kids your age couldn't last a minute in silence or being alone, you got caught up in tasks that allowed your mind to wander.
People often caught you day-dreaming or talking to yourself and you most likely even had an imaginary friend.
The conversations inside your head almost made you feel like there was an extrovert trapped inside.

To other people, quiet looks like weakness

Quiet has too often been misunderstood for weakness. People tend to quickly judge someone who is quiet, as having low self-esteem or being insecure.
In a class of students why is it so easy to assume that the out-going, extroverted ones will be the next Presidents, CEOs and award-winning actors?
Are people unaware or oblivious to the fact that all these positions might end up being filled by an introvert?

You re-defined the meaning of "social life"

The monopoly of middle school, high school and college was all about how many friends you had, how many people knew you or if you're living in the social media age,
how many group photos you're tagged in and what Facebook and Instagram shows about what you did on the weekend.

As a young introvert you probably have a few close friends and you're okay with that. Your weekends are quiet and often spent alone.

While society may not approve with the invention of Netflix, the internet and selfies, it's becoming quite obvious that the universe favours introverts.

Nearly half the population is introverted.
So does that mean nearly half are unsuccessful?

Over the last few months I've not only come to know of a lot of introverts, but also of a lot of extroverts who are secretly introverted.

What's their regret?

Trying to be an extrovert all their life when they knew inside it wasn't really who they were. Introverted kids need to know that it's okay to be who they are.

I encourage all introverts to share their stories about being an introverted....

To all parents, teachers, or friends of an introverted kid, encourage them to follow their passions and be themselves.
As for the introverted kid reading this, be the best person you want to be.

While you might feel invisible in a world that can't stop talking, know that you're not invisible -- you're infinite.