Regina Dugan On the Importance of Quiet to the Creative Process
Author: Susan Cain
6 Comments »
6 Comments »
Regina Dugan, former Director of DARPA (and deliverer of one of my favorite TED talks), on the importance of quiet to the creative process:

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Hey, I love TED Talks! This is one of my favorite videos on TED:
http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html
[…] So I thought I’d come up with a few things I’d like to get done in 2014. I’ve decided that I need to be a little less strict with myself and be kinder to myself in the coming year. One of the problems with creating to make a tiny living is that any creating that is for anyone else or myself is like squeezing the last bit out of the toothpaste tube - sometimes a bit of a struggle when I’m tired. Something I learnt about myself in 2013, having read Susan Cain’s book Quiet is that my well of creativity comes from a quiet, lonesome place. Due to events of last year, I used activity to keep myself busy and to stop dwelling on what was going on so I’m going to work a bit more on creating a quiet place at home. (PS when I looked up the site to link to it there turns out to be an article about the importance of quiet to creative process). […]
I am a lover of TED. I make quality comments there. I am listening to your book now. I find it quite compelling for a non fiction.
It’s been a couple of years since I first read Quiet, and I still find you very inspiring. Thank you for putting in all the hard work to research introverts/extroverts and the power and importance of quiet.
My problem with getting alone time is that my husband is retired, and he’s always around, and I don’t get the alone time to write like I used to. I miss it even though I like being with him too. He’s an extrovert and loves to be around people, but I would prefer to stay home and write or read. How can I get him to give me some alone time without him feeling like I’m rejecting him?
Can you print out an article about introversion or a chapter of my book, so he understands where you’re coming from without taking it personally? Good luck, Elizabeth!