“ [Perfectionism] keeps your work at a high quality, but often prevents you from getting your ideas out there at all, since pretty much nothing anyone does is ever perfect. Susan Cain
“ You may be quicker than others to feel sickened by violence and ugliness, and you likely have a very strong conscience. Susan Cain
“ When the introverts were asked to work at the noise level preferred by the extroverts, and vice versa, everything changed. Not only were the introverts over-aroused by the loud noise, but they also un… Susan Cain
“ We tend to write Moses’ true personality out of the Exodus story. (Cecil B. DeMille’s classic, The Ten Commandments, portrays him as a swashbuckling figure who does all the talking, with no help from… Susan Cain
“ These exceptional CEOs were known not for their flash or charisma but for extreme humility coupled with intense professional will. Susan Cain
“ The purpose of school should be to prepare kids for the rest of their lives, but too often what kids need to be prepared for is surviving the school day itself. Susan Cain
“ The highly sensitive [introverted] tend to be philosophical or spiritual in their orientation, rather than materialistic or hedonistic. They dislike small talk. They often describe themselves as creat… Susan Cain
“ That is why one can never be alone enough when one writes, why there can never be enough silence around one when one writes, why even night is not night enough. Susan Cain
“ Still, there’s a limit to how much we can control our self-presentation. This is partly because of a phenomenon called behavioral leakage, in which our true selves seep out via unconscious body langua… Susan Cain
“ Society often overlooks us introverts. We idolize the talkers and the spotlight seekers, as if they are the role models should be emulating. I call this the Extrovert Ideal. This is the belief that w… Susan Cain
“ So when introverts assume the observer role, as when they write novels, or contemplate unified field theory- or fall quiet at dinner parties- they’re not demonstrating a failure or a lack of energy. T… Susan Cain
“ Schwartz's research suggests something important: we can stretch our personalities, but only up to a point. Our inborn temperaments influence us, regardless of the lives we lead. A sizeable part of wh… Susan Cain
“ Restorative niche' is Professor Little's term for the place you go when you want to return to your true self. It can be a physical place, like the path beside the Richelieu River, or a temporal one, l… Susan Cain
“ Proverbs from the East:The wind howls, but the mountain remains still.Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of silence, living alone automatically makes me refrain from the s… Susan Cain
“ Our personalities also shape our social styles. Extroverts are the people who will add life to your dinner party and laugh generously at your jokes. They tend to be assertive, dominant, and in great n… Susan Cain
“ Open-plan offices have been found to reduce productivity and impair memory. They’re associated with high staff turnover. They make people sick, hostile, unmotivated, and insecure. Susan Cain
“ Maybe they’re not even introverts—only 70 percent of sensitive people are, according to Aron, while the other 30 percent are extroverts (although this group tends to report craving more downtime and s… Susan Cain
