Do you yearn for seclusion, and love to relax and recharge your batteries in your comfort zone without being disturbed by the outside world? Then, World Introvert Day is for you. Observed on January 2, the day celebrates the uniqueness and potentiality of introverts.
World Introvert Day was the brainchild of German psychologist and author Felicitas Heyne. It started in 2011 with her blog post "Here's Why We Need a World Introvert Day" on her website, "iPersonic". January 2 was chosen because it marks the end of the holiday season and allows introverts to take a breather from social gatherings.
There are several misconceptions about introverts—that they are shy, timid, have stage fright, among other things. But history has proven them wrong in several instances, through the lives of successful businessmen and political leaders, scientists, artists and sportspeople.
Here's a look at five popular introverts:
Albert Einstein
The world-renowned physicist and Nobel laureate was a known introvert. One of his famous quotes is: “The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulate the creative mind.” He embraced his introvertedness. The German-born physicist is famous for his special and general theories of relativity. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.
Bill Gates
Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft and one of the wealthiest people in the world. “Well, I think introverts can do quite well,” he said once. “If you're clever, you can learn to get the benefits of being an introvert, which might be, say, being willing to go off for a few days and think about a tough problem, read everything you can, and push yourself very hard to think out on the edge of that area. Then, if you come up with something, if you want to hire people, get them excited, and build a company around that idea, you better learn what extroverts do, you better hire some extroverts (like Steve Ballmer, whom I would claim is an extrovert), and tap into both sets of skills in order to have a company that thrives both in deep thinking and building teams and going out into the world to sell those ideas.”
Gates was an introvert but not shy.
Steven Spielberg
The legendary Hollywood filmmaker is famous for the Jurassic Park films, Schindler’s List, and Saving Private Ryan and more. Spielberg has admitted that he loves to work behind the camera and would prefer getting lost in films rather than attend social gatherings.
Barack Obama
He was the first African-American to be elected President of the United States. He was criticised for being an introvert. He once admitted in an interview with The New York Times that when he is alone and is surrounded by tranquility and calmness, he is most productive.
Meryl Streep
The three-time Academy Award winner is a known introvert. Some of her iconic roles came in films such as The Devil Wears Prada, Sophie's Choice, The Iron Lady and Mamma Mia. Though she was an introvert, she was a regular on the stage since her school days.