How to Effectively Stand out in a Noisy World
Embracing Your Quiet Nature
By nature, introverts gather their strength from being alone and having quiet time. They tend to turn inwards rather than outwards, toward themselves rather than toward others. With the world becoming noisier, especially with the crazy changes in government lately, what’s an introvert to do?
The Power of Quiet
What if you didn’t have to compete in the same arena with extroverts? What if the loudest person didn’t automatically win every argument? As introverts, we gain strength and creativity from alone time. Original ideas spring forth from solitude–something that many don’t honor. Here’s my post Six Facts About Introverts and Social Media That Will Impress Your Friends, in case you missed it.
The Great Blue Heron
Here’s a great quote from the article Leaning Back: The Power of Introverts by Bonnie Marcus in Forbes Magazine:
“Have you ever been to a meeting where people are talking very vociferously about a topic, and there are a lot of individuals engaged. But then, there’s that one person, at the end of the conference table who chimes in, and just nails it. There’s been all this chatter – as one of the introverted leaders told me, he said, it’s like having all these cackling geese. And he says, he sees himself as the great blue heron that swoops in with the compilation, with the concise statement that really sums it all up.”
That person at the end of the table? That would be an introvert. The only issue that others may have is not always being able to “hear” the introvert. Often someone else may mistakenly believe that they themselves thought of an idea that the introvert came up with. It happens.
Being a Tortoise in a World of Hares
Ritu Kaushal, in her lovely post about Accepting Yourself as an Introvert and Loving Your Inner Tortoise on the TinyBuddha blog, says “As introverts, most of us have heard messages about all the things that are wrong with us. We are too intense, too solitary, not fun enough. We may not have asked our own questions back.”
Questions such as:
- What’s wrong with alone time?
- Who says you shouldn’t think deeply about issues?
- Why not enjoy small groups rather than huge parties?
Introvert Superpowers
As introverts, our superpowers are thinking deeply and (often) not caring much about what others think. Add to that intuition, forging our own path, and observation and creating deep and meaningful connections with others. And if you need a good listener, then you’re going to want to have an introvert in your corner.
Speaking of Listening
One of the benefits of being a good listener is that there is less expectation during a conversation. An introvert can read between the lines of the your words and hear what you’re not saying, as well as what you are saying. There are other hidden benefits of listening, too. You can get the jump on what others are really thinking. And that makes everyone feel good. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
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