Shyness Remains a Part of Being Human
Author: Susan Cain
A shy Yves Saint Laurent is pushed onstage to be acclaimed for his Spring-Summer collection, Paris, January 1986. Photo by Abbas/Magnum
Joe Moran explores why shyness is a fundamental part of humanity:
Shyness reminds us that all human interaction is fraught with ambiguity, and that insecurity and self-doubt are natural, because we are all ultimately inaccessible to one another. The human brain is the most complex object we know, and the journey from one brain to another is surely the most difficult. Every attempt at communication is a leap into the dark, with no guarantee that we will be understood or even heard by anyone else. Given this obdurate fact, a little shyness around each other is understandable.
And this quote alone is worth projecting onto the side of a building:
Shyness remains a part of being human, and the world would be a more insipid, less creative place without it.
Read the rest: Joe Moran’s “The Crystalline Wall” | AeonMagazine.com
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The acclaimed New York Times bestseller, now in paperback:
"Rich, intelligent... enlightening."
Bill Gates names "The Power of Introverts" one of his all-time favorite TED Talks.
QUIET has been voted the best nonfiction book of 2012
by Goodreads.com
Many well-known creative people have talked about being shy - including actor Claire Danes and musician Gwen Stefani. Elaine Aron, PhD notes this term shy “has some very negative connotations. It does not have to; shy can also be equated with words such as discreet, self-controlled, thoughtful, and sensitive.” - More in my post Creative and Shy http://blogs.psychcentral.com/creative-mind/2010/11/creative-and-shy/
Shyness itself is not the problem. The problem is how you handle your shyness.
Susan,
This is yet one more way you are helping to reshape the dialog about human interaction. I have thoroughly enjoyed your book and found in it some other nuggets that I have compiled in this post: http://theflyblog.com/2013/07/19/susan-cain-myth-buster/
I also agree with the other comments.
Thanks for bringing this topic out into the open.