The importance of staying quiet and listening. A book review on Susan Cain's book Quiet 🤫

Want to feel at peace, stillness, the sound of the wind, observe the clouds moving ...all while staring at a volcanic crater and the endless ocean all around? Then get 10,000 feet high and head to Haleakalā National Park to experience quiet above the clouds. This picture was taken in Hawaii at the national park and is the perfect ideal quiet environment. This segues into perfectly about a book on quiet.

Former Wall Street lawyer Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking presents seven years of research to share her ideas on why which human personality types like small talk, in a majority of Western cultures, being extroverted is presented as one of the ideals to success, and companies having the awareness to adapt the workplace to allow for introverts to make their best contribution of value possible. A read that gave me insight on not only myself but, more importantly, how and why others will think and act the way they do.

My favorite quotes from Susan Cain 

“Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you’re supposed to.” 

“Whoever you are, bear in mind that appearance is not reality. Some people act like extroverts, but the effort costs them energy, authenticity, and even physical health. Others seem aloof or self-contained, but their inner landscapes are rich and full of drama. So the next time you see a person with a composed face and a soft voice, remember that inside her mind, she might be solving an equation, composing a sonnet, designing a hat. She might, that is, be deploying the powers of quiet.” 

“(Finland is a famously introverted nation. Finnish joke: How can you tell if a Finn likes you? He’s staring at your shoes instead of his own.).”