I recently saw a video on YouTube in which Susan Cain talks about “The Power of Introverts”. Being an introvert myself, I felt that what she said made very good sense. Wikipedia describes introverts as “quiet and less sociable”; but although we want to spend a lot of time alone, we also want to be liked by others and want to be with friends with whom we have mutual respect and appreciation. We like doing things in our own way. We need our own space and we don’t like being pushed around or forced to do things at a pace different from our choosing.

Introverts are the perfect buffers for the (generally) volatile extroverts. They bring stability to the group that they belong to. They, typically represent the diligent worker who works in a quiet (almost unobtrusive) manner but who always gets his/her stuff done on time. Moreover, in the field of teaching, an introvert teacher can actually often be a boon in disguise for both introvert as well as extrovert students. He/She will be able to provide the introvert students with the necessary time and space that they need to come out of their shell, as well as be patient with the extrovert ones so that they can utilize their potential to the fullest extent. They will have a better chance at nurturing the latent talent present in the kids of today and will not make them feel pushed or pressurized.

As Cain puts it in her video, Introverts are not an oddity; they represent a huge section of humanity and therefore they need the respect and solitude they deserve. It is for the betterment of all that introverts are left as they are. It’s necessary to let them have the freedom to figure things out in their own way, so that through their life of privacy and self-containment the discoveries which they make, will be of greater use to the society and world at large.