"Introverts, Extroverts, Legendary Raids and Why I think everyone would benefit from Susan Cain’s book, Quiet."

#PokemonGO: Now that legendary raids have brought about a paradigm shift into how most trainers organize their adventures, I think it’s a great opportunity to introduce a very interesting and important book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.This book is nonfiction, masterfully researched and articulated, a bestseller and only through chance did I read this book a couple of years back, but it is without a doubt this book has changed my life as it did for many others before me and for many others to come. I’m not an avid reader so the fact that I’m recommending this book should speak volumes as to how significant this book is.Firstly, a synopsis of the book,“At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.”Okay, now back to me.By no means am I an expert on this subject matter and this probably comes off as one of the more farfetch'd threads ever to be brought into TSR but after noticing a spike in the amount of topics pertaining to social norms and expectations during (legendary) raids especially with regard to extroverts and introverts I felt a critical breakpoint had been reached and discussion on a practical level was necessary.It’s no mystery to anyone that once legendary raids were made known they became the core gameplay mechanic for a lot of players. On the other hand, the advent of this new social dynamic has made it become increasingly obvious that there are a lot of introverts and extroverts that show up to these gatherings and do not have the adequate level of social skills equipped.So today, I want to discuss the fundamentals of being an introvert and extrovert. Believe me when I say, you probably don’t need to read all of this to know whether you are an introvert or extrovert but it isn’t until you finally sit down and meticulously examine yourself that you realize to what extent that really means.I’m going to get 4 things out of the way immediately,According to Susan Cain, at least 1/3 of the world population is made of introverts (a restatement of the synopsis)Introverts are just as social as extroverts if not more. But just like extroverts, they need to be in the right social situation for it to be obviousBe yourself, really. But that doesn’t mean you should just apathetically waltz through life. You owe it to yourself to push yourself on a regular basis and I hope you try to do this in Pokémon Go as well!Finally, join or create a local raid either through FB, Discord, WhatsApp, etc. The hardest part is starting it up. Once you pick up momentum it really is just as unconscious as breathing. My raid experience completely changed once I began to get a feel for expectations before even arriving at a raid.The part you guys have probably be waiting for. Let’s go over a small sample of some of the features of the extrovert and introvert.IntrovertLoves the social atmosphere of an intimate one on one. Introverts come to life in small scale interactions and typically require to not go above a certain maximum amount of stimuli. Too much and they can feel exhausted and drained of energy.Typically great at planned situations, think first and act later, and often enjoys thinking things throughAre better at leading proactive people because they listen to and let them run with their ideasExtrovertLoves the social atmosphere of many people. Extroverts come to life in huge gatherings of people and typically require a certain minimum threshold of stimuli to be achieved in order to feel alive. Too little and they can feel uninspired and bored.Typically great at spontaneous situations, act first and think later, and often enjoy talking things outAre better at leading passive people because they have a knack for motivation and inspirationWith this in mind, here are a few considerations that you may find helpful as you continue on in your Pokémon journey.Advice For introvertsMake it a personal goal to talk to one person in a raid. Find the most isolated individual at the side of the gathering and just exchange formalities. Trust me, that person’s an introvert too! Start from there. Seen a friendly trainer more than once? Shake hands and exchange names. Talk about the weather, the nice shade from the sun you guys have, what level you guys are, counters to the raid boss, etc. The fear factor is very real but I promise you, if you do it enough, one day you may even find yourself unconsciously just introducing yourself to everyone.Know your rest days. Similar to how you need to plan rest days when you work out, you need to plan your rest days as a trainer. For some people this may mean 1 hr of PoGo a day, for others this may mean no raids until the weekend. Find your balance and work with it. This concept of the recharge period is crucial to being successful as an introvert.Plan your raids. You should know which gyms are available to you and while you can’t know exactly when and what raid is going to happen, you can know what to expect at certain locations. If you have to, just go to a gym and casually sit, move and groove until your body is comfortable with that location so that way once an actual raid occurs, this is one less variable to think about. Don’t feel pressured into doing tier 4 and 5 raids when tier 1 – 3 raids in a smaller social group may be just as joyful.And if after deliberately practicing your social skills raid after raid, you ever find yourself with a bare minimum amount of people, this is your chance to lead! Rarely do people in the real world get opportunities to practice their leadership skills spontaneously and this is why I love PoGo so much as well. Raids in PoGo are a unique opportunity to practice your social small talk skills, skills that can very much help you in the professional world.Advice For ExtrovertsEspecially the impromptu raid leaders, it’s awesome that you vocally try to be inclusive of everyone. And it’s awesome that you can lead most people. Now just realize that not everyone is at the same social wavelength and there’s nothing wrong with that. Look for body language hints and people that stay away from the main huddle. Chances are they are introverts and just as chill as everyone else, they just prefer one on ones! If need be, preferably walk up to them and just talk in a one on one basis. No need to bring them into the group, no need to have everyone recognize them, just keep it as a one on one.Remember, it’s not a homogenous group of people in any given raid so there may be times when you may have to split teams. Again, same thing applies. It’s easier to talk to extroverts in a group setting and it’s easier to talk to introverts in an individualized setting.One key note to mention here is that being shy is not the same as being introverted.As Susan Cain puts it, “shyness is the fear of social disapproval or humiliation, while introversion is a preference for environments that are not overstimulating.”I bring this major point out simply because there are individuals here that are possibly shy and introverted! If that’s the case, PoGo raids should be even more important to you! This is your opportunity to force yourself into social situations where you can deliberately practice on your shyness. You don’t have to talk or initiate contact but just by being there will monumentally change your attitude and willingness to push yourself and try new things. I truly believe PoGo can help people work on their fears and aversions to being in social events.Remember, everyone is there to catch their own legendary Pokémon but have to gather together to achieve that common goal. This makes it a low-pressured social atmosphere where everyone’s core intention is already known. No one cares what level you are as long as you can contribute. No one cares whether you talk or not. No one cares how you look or how old you are. But everyone and their mother cares very much whether there are enough trainers to take down the Legendary Pokémon so that they even have a chance to catch it and that’s the bottom line.Why this is important to me and why it should be important to you?I’m not shy. I’m reserved. And it was that difference that made me realize after reading Susan Cain’s book how misunderstood a lot of people in this world must feel.As a young working professional and an ambivert (people with characteristics of both introverts and extroverts), I personally embrace every raid I can partake in as an opportunity to freely practice my leadership and social skills. It’s a poor man’s toastmaster. And for many of you that deliberately avoid social situations (introverts) or for those of you that partake in huge gatherings of outgoing individuals (extroverts), the legendary raids in Pokémon Go presents a unique opportunity for you to challenge your life.For seemingly a lot of people here, legendary raids have become to a critical extent just how far one is willing to interact with random strangers and that’s the best part!I challenge everyone here especially those of you that are just getting started on your Pokémon journey to jot down notes or even write in a journal about the day to day interactions you may encounter playing Pokémon Go and participating in (legendary) raids. And in the grand scheme of things if you really push yourself I’m confident most people here will have become better versions of themselves on their way to being the very best, like no one ever was!If you enjoyed reading what I wrote then I totally recommend Susan Cain’s book, Quiet! It’s a short read (less than 350 pages) and I promise you, you'll gain more satisfaction reading her book than you did reading my mumble jumble as it goes into deeper details on this whole introvert/extrovert topic. via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2vGrZvD