I Look Back On My Years As

Don't Think Of Introversion As Something That Needs To Be Cured.

In The First Study, Grant And His Colleagues Analyzed Data From One Of The Five Biggest Pizza Chains In The United States. They Discovered That The Weekly Profits Of The Stores Managed By Extroverts Were 16 Percent Higher Than The Profits Of Those Led By Introverts—but Only When The Employees Were Passive Types Who Tended To Do Their Job Without Exercising Initiative. Introverted Leaders Had The Exact Opposite Results. When They Worked With Employees Who Actively Tried To Improve Work Procedures, Their Stores Outperformed Those Led By Extroverts By More Than 14 Percent.

Evangelicalism Has Taken The Extrovert Ideal To Its Logical Extreme...if You Don't Love Jesus Out Loud, Then It Must Not Be Real Love. It's Not Enough To Forge Your Own Spiritual Connection To The Divine; It Must Be Displayed Publicly.

Many Introverts Are Also "highly Sensitive," Which Sounds Poetic, But Is Actually A Technical Term In Psychology. If You Are A Sensitive Sort, Then You're More Apt Than The Average Person To Feel Pleasantly Overwhelmed By Beethoven's "moonlight Sonata" Or A Well-turned Phrase Or An Act Of Extraordinary Kindness. You May Be Quicker Than Others To Feel Sickened By Violence And Ugliness, And You Likely Have A Very Strong Conscience.

Most People Who Have Grown Up Introverted In This Very Extroverted Culture Of Ours Have Had Painful Experiences Of Feeling Like They Are Out Of Step With What's Expected Of Them.