The magic of quiet

While sitting with a book beneath June's huge, blue sky, a droning sound began to intrude on my thoughts.

It wasn't a bumble bee, so I craned my head back and looked up.

And high up there, flitting between small fluffy clouds, was a little red biplane. I watched in awe as I was treated to a private air show. The pilot spun stomach-churning loop-the-loops, allowed the plan to plummet Earth-wards, twisting as it went, before veering upwards again, the sun glinting off the wings as it somersaulted.

The performance was exhilarating to watch, but I knew with absolute certainty that if I were in that plane, I would be having a complete melt-down. My guess is that the pilot was an extroverted character.

The book I was reading is called 'Quiet, The Power of Introverts', by Susan Cain, and so far I have found it to be nothing less than life-changing. A friend recommended it to me over a drink, and the very next day, another friend, completely randomly, gave me a copy.

Cain's exertion is that in our contemporary 'culture of personality', extroverts are excessively and misguidedly respected. 'For far too long,' she says, 'those who are naturally quiet, serious or sensitive have been overlooked. The loudest have taken over – even if they have nothing to say.'

If you are more of a quiet sort, you will enjoy Cain's withering exhaustion with extroverts, but most importantly, she hopes to empower those with introverted tendencies to recognise and value their inherent strengths, and to inhabit their own personality without apology.

I've often wondered about the correlation between creativity and introversion – or perhaps it's more to do with introspection?

Either way, here's to celebrating all the different colours of personality.

Pearl