Saturday, April 17, 2010

In praise of shyness

“At the very least, if you’re shy, you’re never bored.”

James Parker, Let Us Now Praise Shyness (Boston Globe)

comments: 1

Elaine Fine said...

You'll never be bored because you won't have to be on the listening end of a conversation (or monologue) delivered to you by someone who really only wants to hear him or herself talk.

I agree with the Darwinian concept of shyness. I think that there is a distinction between being shy and being skeptical of hierarchies and agendas in social situations. Self-diagnosed shyness can amount to many missed opportunities for friendship. Sometimes it is worth it to get out of yourself and enter into a conversation. There's a chance that the person on the other end won't be a blowhard who doesn't care anything about you.