212 Quotes About Introversion

I heard, for the first time— nothing. I danced and did somersaults, lay down in a bed of grass, felt the breeze.And for the first time, I heard my heart, and I knew who I was.

I’m not so sure that live is always better. It is part of the extrovert assumption to value interaction over inner action. Most introverts savor live time with a close friend, because they know there will be plenty of inner action for both of them. But much of what we call “social” in America allows for very little inner action. Emailing a friend or posting a blog entry will probably feel much richer, and help us feel much closer, than being up close and impersonal.

One of the teens I worked with told me about how she loves to take tests, because it is quiet and everyone is occupying their own space.

Similarly, a Solo Date is an outing with yourself to satisfy some of your introvert cravings. And it is a delicious treat.

...it is impossible to fully and fairly understand introversion without looking inside. We aren’t just going away, we’re going toward something.

Regardless of how dead we feel in a crowd, we cling to the uniquely American assumption that associating is good and necessary and solitude is suspect.

Solitude is not lack.

If you retreat in response to desire rather than deprivation, the deprivation may never come.

The British attendees reported a similar difficulty identifying introverts in America because “U.S. Introverts exhibited behavior that in the United Kingdom was associated with Extroversion: sociability, comfort with small talk, disclosure of personal information, energetic and fast-paced conversation, and so forth.” Most Americans, whether introverted or extroverted, have learned to look like extroverts.