Yes, it’s definitely something I’ve been missing for the last few weeks. Summer has been crazy. We’ve been going here and there. We went on our first camping trip last weekend. The kids are swimming like fish and eating like locusts. My son needs to make a vocalization with every movement that he makes. My daughters get crazy-silly giggly when they are exhausted. These go great with the never-ending cold I seem to have.
An artist friend shared the book with me after we talked about our mutual terror of large gatherings. It took me two years to get to it, but it was a fascinating read.
As an introvert, I’ve always felt like something was wrong with me. I prefer to listen rather than talk. I’m not great at jumping into group conversations. I prefer to email and need to force myself to make phone calls. When professors said that class participation was part of the grade, I panicked.
In school, I frequently felt like that was the wrong way to be and I had to learn how to like giving speeches and talking in front of people. That I should be able to make friends more easily when I mostly feel like people look like I’m a little (or a lot) weird.
This book helped erase that.(Well, some of it. People will still think I’m weird.) From it, I learned that introverts approach the world differently. They need quiet time to recharge. They think a lot before they express their thoughts. They need quiet, more isolated workspaces to work effectively and they come up with some of the best and most creative ideas.
I also learned that I’m not the only weird one. Approximately, 30-40 percent of the population is some degree of introverted.
If you are an introvert or live with an introvert, I would definitely check this book out. It will give you some great insights into that personality type.
Now I need to figure out how to get my quiet time with three kids rambling around the house.
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
I’m old enough that the term “introvert” had not yet been developed (at least not in popular vocabulary) when I was growing up…. so I always thought I was just painfully shy. Oh, I was able to cope, but it always took enormous amounts of effort and (at some point in my adolescence) I realized that my way of coping was to play a role. In other words, I couldn’t just be myself, I had to pretend to be someone who could function in the noise and bustle and chaos. And along the way, I became a reasonably good actor. So much so, that (I believe) there were people who had only “met” the character I was playing and had no idea who the real me was or what I was about.
Yes, we “introverts” — though I dislike that label — need time to recharge. I live with people who re-charge by going out into the noise and bustle… so you can imagine my on-going struggle (needing to retreat from same).
I could go on, but I need to be a character this morning in order to face the hustle-bustle and incredibly loud business of VBS. I love working with the kids, but it’s a dramatic strain on my system to endure all that activity and sound.
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We have a great deal in common, Jeff.
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“Play a role” — yes! I taught computer classes at the library and I could do the public speaking thing fairly well, but I was absolutely exhausted the rest of the day. It’s like I can turn it on, but when I’m done, I AM DONE. I can’t even stand to hear voices sometimes.
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Good luck with finding quiet time! I could tell you that in about ten years things will probably be TOO quiet, but you’ll find that out on your own. The books sounds fascinating – I’m not sure I’d qualify as an introvert, but maybe it would be a good resource for character development. Thanks for sharing!
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It definitely would be. There is a lot about how introverts and extroverts approach the world, what energizes them and what depletes them.
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Glad you are back! Hope the Summer is fun.
I was introverted to an incredible degree when I was young.I tried to break out a number of times as I got older, but I don’t think you can really change a person. Most people I meet now don’t believe it when I say I was terribly shy…and have no idea how much I have to fight myself otherwise. I think that is probably why I have had so little published.
Interesting book.
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There was a lot in the book about how some of the introversion is actually genetically coded (I may not have that exactly right), but it’s a physical thing as much as a personality thing.
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I’ve heard about this book and I’ve been wanting to get it. Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
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I seek out my quiet time after my kids go to sleep. I have stayed up until 3-4 am writing and simply enjoying the peacefulness.
In high school I was more outgoing and more comfortable with crowds and speaking to people I didn’t know. Since then I have learned it is ok to be quiet and want to be alone.
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I do that too. Some days I feel like I’m waiting all day for them to go to bed because then I can think. I try not to stay up too late though. They are early-risers.
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