When I was nine years old, I went off to summer camp for the first time. And my mother packed me a suitcase full of books, which to me seemed like a perfectly natural thing to do. Because in my family, reading was the primary group activity. And this might sound antisocial to you, but for us it was really just a different way of being social. You have the animal warmth of your family sitting right next to you, but you are also free to go roaming around the adventureland inside your own mind. And I had this idea that camp was going to be just like this, but better.
Nung ako'y siyam na taong gulang Sumama ako sa isang summer camp. At inimpake ng aking ina ang isang maletang punong-puno ng libro, na para sa akin ay pawang natural lamang na gawin. Dahil sa aming pamilya, ang pagbabasa ay isang pangunahing gawain. Siguro ay sa tingin n'yo na kami'y mapag-isa ngunit para sa amin, iba lang itong paraan sa pakikipagkapwa. May mainit na awra ng iyong pamilya nasa tabi mo, pero ikaw rin ay malayang malakbay sa mga adventureland ng iyong utak mo. At sa tingin ko na maging ganito ang aking karanasan sa camp, pero mas maganda pala.
(Laughter)
(Tawanan)
I had a vision of 10 girls sitting in a cabin cozily reading books in their matching nightgowns.
Ini-imagine ko na mayroong sampung babaing umu-upo sa loob ng kabina na komportabling nagbabasa ng mga libro sa kanilang damit pantulog.
(Laughter)
(Tawanan)
Camp was more like a keg party without any alcohol. And on the very first day, our counselor gathered us all together and she taught us a cheer that she said we would be doing every day for the rest of the summer to instill camp spirit. And it went like this: "R-O-W-D-I-E, that's the way we spell rowdie. Rowdie, rowdie, let's get rowdie."
Ang isang camp ay para na ring inuman na walang alak. At sa unang araw kami ay tinipon ng aming counselor at tinuruan niya kami ng isang cheer na gawin daw namin bawat nalalabing araw ng summer para makintal ang diwa ng camp. Ganito yun nangyari: "R-O-W-D-I-E, ganyan namin binaybay and rowdie. Rowdie, rowdie, tara na mag-rowdie."
(Laughter)
Yeah. So I couldn't figure out for the life of me why we were supposed to be so rowdy, or why we had to spell this word incorrectly.
Yeah. Hindi ko matanto sa aking buhay at kung bakit dapat o bakit ibahin pagkabaybay ang salita.
(Laughter)
(Tawanan)
But I recited a cheer. I recited a cheer along with everybody else. I did my best. And I just waited for the time that I could go off and read my books.
Pero ni-recite ko pa rin ang cheer. Sabay akong bumigkas sa lahat. Ginawa ko ang lahat ng aking makakaya. At hinintay ko lang ang tamang oras na ako'y lumiban at magbasa ng aking mga libro.
But the first time that I took my book out of my suitcase, the coolest girl in the bunk came up to me and she asked me, "Why are you being so mellow?" -- mellow, of course, being the exact opposite of R-O-W-D-I-E. And then the second time I tried it, the counselor came up to me with a concerned expression on her face and she repeated the point about camp spirit and said we should all work very hard to be outgoing.
Ngunit nang una kung kumuha ng aklat sa aking maleta, ang pinaka-cool na babae ay tumungo sa akin at nagtanong, "Bakit ka napaka-malungkutin?" -- malungkot, ay talagang pagiging kasalungat ng R-O-W-D-I-E. At sa pangalawang pagkataong ako'y sumubok, ang counselor ay dumating na may pagkakabahala sa kanyang mukha at pinaaalahanan niya ako sa diwa ng camp at dapat kaming magsikap ng maiigi para makihalubilo sa iba.
And so I put my books away, back in their suitcase, and I put them under my bed, and there they stayed for the rest of the summer. And I felt kind of guilty about this. I felt as if the books needed me somehow, and they were calling out to me and I was forsaking them. But I did forsake them and I didn't open that suitcase again until I was back home with my family at the end of the summer.
At inilayo ko na lang ang mga aklat, balik sa maleta, at inilagay ko sa ilalim ng higaan, at doon na sila hanggang sa huli ng summer. At nakonsyensya ako sa ginawa kong ito. Sa tingin ko'y kinailangan ako ng aking libro, nagtatawag sila sa akin ngunit sila'y aking tinalikdan. Tinalikdan ko nga sila at di ko na binuksan and maleta hanggang sa akoy nakabalik sa amin
Now, I tell you this story about summer camp. I could have told you 50 others just like it -- all the times that I got the message that somehow my quiet and introverted style of being was not necessarily the right way to go, that I should be trying to pass as more of an extrovert. And I always sensed deep down that this was wrong and that introverts were pretty excellent just as they were. But for years I denied this intuition, and so I became a Wall Street lawyer, of all things, instead of the writer that I had always longed to be -- partly because I needed to prove to myself that I could be bold and assertive too. And I was always going off to crowded bars when I really would have preferred to just have a nice dinner with friends. And I made these self-negating choices so reflexively, that I wasn't even aware that I was making them.
sa katapusan ng summer. At ngayong aking sinalaysay itong estorya hinggil sa isang summer camp. May limampung kwento pa akong maaring ikwento -- lahat ng panahong makatanggap ako ng mensahe na kahit papaano, ang aking tahimik at pagiging introvert ay hindi ang ang talagang pinakatama at dapat ipag-paigi ko na maging mas extrovert. At palaging kong inisisip na ito'y mali at ang mga introverts ay napakahusay sa pagiging sila. Pero sa mga nakalipas na panahon ay tinanggihan ko itong intuwisyon, at ako nga ay naging abogada ng Wall Street, sa lahat ng bagay, sa halip ng pagiging manunulat na siyang aking pinangarap -- siguro ay dahil gusto kong patunayan sa aking sarili na ako ay maaring maging matapang at asertib rin. At palagi na akong lumalabas sa mga nagsisiksikang bar kahit na mas gusto ko talagang magkaroon na lamang ng dinner sa mga kaibigan. At ginawa ko itong mga self-negating choices na napaka-refexive, na hindi ko namalayang ginagawa ko sila.
Now this is what many introverts do, and it's our loss for sure, but it is also our colleagues' loss and our communities' loss. And at the risk of sounding grandiose, it is the world's loss. Because when it comes to creativity and to leadership, we need introverts doing what they do best. A third to a half of the population are introverts -- a third to a half. So that's one out of every two or three people you know. So even if you're an extrovert yourself, I'm talking about your coworkers and your spouses and your children and the person sitting next to you right now -- all of them subject to this bias that is pretty deep and real in our society. We all internalize it from a very early age without even having a language for what we're doing.
Ngayon ito ang ginagawa ng mga introverts, at ito ay para bang ang aming kalugian, pero ito rin ay kalugian ng aming mga kasama at kalugian nating komunidad. At sa risgo ng matunog na kadakilaan, ito ay kawalan ng ating daigdig. Dahil kung ang pag-uusapan natin ay pagiging malikhain at pamumuno, kinakailangan natin ang mga introverts gumawa kung ano sila pinakamahusay. Isa sa tatlo o hanggang sa kalahati ng ating populasyon ay mga introverts -- isa sa tatlo o hanggang kalahati. Lumalabas na merong isa sa bawat dalawa o tatlo kataong kilala mo. Kung ikaw ay isang extrovert, ako ay nangungusap hinggil sa inyong mga katrabaho, at inyong mga asawa at mga anak. at ang taong naka-upo katabi mo -- lahat sila ay saklaw sa bias na ito iyan ay napakatotoo sa ating lipunan. Nasa sarili na natin ito sa murang edad nang walang pangalang maitawag kung ano ang ginagawa natin.
Now, to see the bias clearly, you need to understand what introversion is. It's different from being shy. Shyness is about fear of social judgment. Introversion is more about, how do you respond to stimulation, including social stimulation. So extroverts really crave large amounts of stimulation, whereas introverts feel at their most alive and their most switched-on and their most capable when they're in quieter, more low-key environments. Not all the time -- these things aren't absolute -- but a lot of the time. So the key then to maximizing our talents is for us all to put ourselves in the zone of stimulation that is right for us.
Ngayon, para makita natin ang bias nang maigi ating alamin kung ano ba talaga ang introbersiyon. Iba ito sa pagiging mahiyain. Ang pagkamahiyain ay hingil sa takot ng puna sa lipunan. Ang introbersiyon ay higit pa tungkol sa paano ka tumugon sa estimyolasyon, kasama na ang sa panlipunang paksa. Sinasabik ng mga extroverts ang maraming estimolasyon, samantalang ang mga introverts ay pinaka-buhay at pinaka-gising at pinaka-mahusay kung sila ay nasa mas tahimik na lugar. Hindi sa lahat ng panahon --ang mga bagay na ito'y hindi lubos -- pero sa halos lahat ng panahon. Kung gayon, ang sagot para mapalawak natin ang ating mga talento ay para tayong ipagka-isa
But now here's where the bias comes in. Our most important institutions, our schools and our workplaces, they are designed mostly for extroverts and for extroverts' need for lots of stimulation. And also we have this belief system right now that I call the new groupthink, which holds that all creativity and all productivity comes from a very oddly gregarious place.
sa estimulasyong bagay sa ating lahat. Pero dito na lumalabas ang bia. Sa ating mga pinaka-importanting institusyon, ang ating mga paaralan at pinagtatrabahuan, sila ay dinesenyo sa halos ng lahat ng bagay para sa mga extrovert at tugon para sa estimulasyong hinahangad ng mga extrovert. At nariyan din ang ating paniniwala na tinatawag kong "groupthink", na nagsasabong ang pagkamalikhain at pagkaproduktibo ay manggagaling sa kakaibang lugar na naglalayong sayo na makisama.
So if you picture the typical classroom nowadays: When I was going to school, we sat in rows. We sat in rows of desks like this, and we did most of our work pretty autonomously. But nowadays, your typical classroom has pods of desks -- four or five or six or seven kids all facing each other. And kids are working in countless group assignments. Even in subjects like math and creative writing, which you think would depend on solo flights of thought, kids are now expected to act as committee members. And for the kids who prefer to go off by themselves or just to work alone, those kids are seen as outliers often or, worse, as problem cases. And the vast majority of teachers reports believing that the ideal student is an extrovert as opposed to an introvert, even though introverts actually get better grades and are more knowledgeable, according to research.
Kung iisipin mo ang tipikal na silid-aralan ngayon: Nung ako'y nag-aaral, umupo kami nang nakahanay. Nakaupo kami sa hanay ng upuno nang ganito, at ginagawa namin ang bagay-bagay nang mag-isa. Pero, ngayon, ang tipikal na silid ay may lupon ng mga mesa -- apat o lima o anim o pitong mga bata ay naghaharap sa isa't isa. At gumagawa ang mga bata ng walang hanggang group assignments. Kahit na sa asignaturang math at pagsusulat, na kung iisipin mo ay nagdepende talaga sa sariling pag-iisip, ang mga bata ngayon ay inaasahang maging miyembro ng komite. At sa mga batang mas gusto na magtungo sa sarili nila o gumawa ng mag-isa, yung mga bata na parang hindi kasali o, mas malala pa. Halos lahat ng mga guro ay naniniwala na ang pinaka-ulirang estudyante ay isang extrovert at hindi ang introvert, gayong ang mga introvert naman talaga ang nakakakuha ng mas mataas na marka at mas may alam, ayon sa isang pagsaliksik.
(Laughter)
(Tawanan)
Okay, same thing is true in our workplaces. Now, most of us work in open plan offices, without walls, where we are subject to the constant noise and gaze of our coworkers. And when it comes to leadership, introverts are routinely passed over for leadership positions, even though introverts tend to be very careful, much less likely to take outsize risks -- which is something we might all favor nowadays. And interesting research by Adam Grant at the Wharton School has found that introverted leaders often deliver better outcomes than extroverts do, because when they are managing proactive employees, they're much more likely to let those employees run with their ideas, whereas an extrovert can, quite unwittingly, get so excited about things that they're putting their own stamp on things, and other people's ideas might not as easily then bubble up to the surface.
Okay, iyan ay pareho sa ating pinagtatrabahuan. Ngayon, halos lahat natin ay nagtatrabaho sa lantarang opisina, walang dingding, tayong lahat ay nakasaklaw sa mga ingay at titig ng ating mga katrabaho. At pagdating sa pamumuno, ang mga introverts ay regular na napapabayaan sa mga namumunong posisyon, kahit na ang mga introvert ay napakamaingat, at mas nag-iingat sa mga risgo -- na isang bagay na maaring pabor tayong lahat sa kasalukuyan. Isang interesanting pananaliksik ni Adam Grant sa Wharton School ang nakatukoy na ang mga pinunong introvert ay madalas nakakagawa ng mas mabuti kaysa mga extrovert. dahil kung sila'y nangungulo ng mga proactib na empleyado, madalas ay hinahayaan nila ang mga ito na ipatuloy ang kanilang mga ideya, samantalng ang mga extrovert ay, nang hindi sinasadya, nagiging mas na-eeksayt sa mga bagay na sila na lang ang gumagawa sa lahat ng bagay, at mga ideya ng ilan ay mahihirapang
Now in fact, some of our transformative leaders in history have been introverts.
umusbong.
I'll give you some examples. Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Gandhi -- all these people described themselves as quiet and soft-spoken and even shy. And they all took the spotlight, even though every bone in their bodies was telling them not to. And this turns out to have a special power all its own, because people could feel that these leaders were at the helm not because they enjoyed directing others and not out of the pleasure of being looked at; they were there because they had no choice, because they were driven to do what they thought was right.
Sa katunayan, ilan sa mga lider na nagpabago ng ating daigdig ay introvert. Magbibigay ako ng mga halimbawa. Eleonor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Gandhi -- lahat sila ay nagsasabing mga introvert na napakatahimik at mahinang magsalita at maging mahiyain. At silang lahat ay naging tanyag, kahit na bawat buto sa kanilang katawan ay pumipigil nito. At ito ay nagpapahiwatig nang pagiging pagkakaroon ng kapangyarihan sa panarili, dahil ang mga tao ay nakaramdam na sila ang nasa timon, hindi dahil gusto nila ang ang mangulo sa iba at hindi dahil sa kagustuhan nilang mapansin; nadun sila dahil wala silang ibang mapilian, dahil sila ay ginagabayang gawin ang sa tingin nila ay tamang gawin.
Now I think at this point it's important for me to say that I actually love extroverts. I always like to say some of my best friends are extroverts, including my beloved husband. And we all fall at different points, of course, along the introvert/extrovert spectrum. Even Carl Jung, the psychologist who first popularized these terms, said that there's no such thing as a pure introvert or a pure extrovert. He said that such a man would be in a lunatic asylum, if he existed at all. And some people fall smack in the middle of the introvert/extrovert spectrum, and we call these people ambiverts. And I often think that they have the best of all worlds. But many of us do recognize ourselves as one type or the other.
Nagyon, naisip kong importanting masabi sa inyo na gusto ko talaga ang mga extrovert. Gusto ko talagang sa isang taong na ang pinakamatalik niyang kaibigan ay isang extrovert, pati na ang pinakamahal kong asawa. At tayo ay sakop ng iba't ibang saklaw, sa espektro ng pagiging introvert/extrovert. Kahit na si Carl Jung, na nagpasikat sa mga terminong yaun, ay nagsasabi na wala naman talang puro na introvert o puro na ectrovert. Sabi pa niya na ang taong iyan ay maaring nasa asilo ng mga baliw, kung nabubuhay man siya. At may mga taong nasasaklaw sa gitna ng pagiging introvert/extrovert, at tinanawag natin silang ambiverts. At madals kong iniisip na nasa kanila ang pinakamabuti sa mundo. Pero maarami sa atin ay kinikilala ang sarili sa isang tipo laban sa isa.
And what I'm saying is that culturally, we need a much better balance. We need more of a yin and yang between these two types. This is especially important when it comes to creativity and to productivity, because when psychologists look at the lives of the most creative people, what they find are people who are very good at exchanging ideas and advancing ideas, but who also have a serious streak of introversion in them.
At ang gusto kong sabihin ay kinakailangan natin na mas angkop na balanse. Kinakailangan natin ng yin at yang sa dalawang tipo. Ito ay napaka-importante lalo na sa pagiging pagkamalikhain at pagiging produktibo, dahil sa tingin ng mga sikologo sa mga buhay ng mga pinakamalikhaing tao, nakita nila na ang mga taong magaling sa pakikipagpalitan ng mga ideya at pagsulong ng mga ito, pero sila din yun may malaking bahagi ng introbersyon sa kanila.
And this is because solitude is a crucial ingredient often to creativity. So Darwin, he took long walks alone in the woods and emphatically turned down dinner-party invitations. Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, he dreamed up many of his amazing creations in a lonely bell tower office that he had in the back of his house in La Jolla, California. And he was actually afraid to meet the young children who read his books for fear that they were expecting him this kind of jolly Santa Claus-like figure and would be disappointed with his more reserved persona. Steve Wozniak invented the first Apple computer sitting alone in his cubicle in Hewlett-Packard where he was working at the time. And he says that he never would have become such an expert in the first place had he not been too introverted to leave the house when he was growing up.
At ito ay dahil ang pag-iisa ay madalas importanteng sangkap sa pagiging malikhain. Kaya si Darwin, naglakad siya nang mag-isa sa gubat at mariing tinanggihan ang imbitasyon sa salu-salo, Theodor Geisel, mas kilala sa bansag na Dr. Seuss, naisip niya ang karamihan sa kanyang mga nakakamanghang ginawa sa isang malungkot na silid sa isang tore ng kampana sa likod ng kanyang bahay sa La Jolla, California. At siya ay talagang takot na makatagpo ang mga bata na nagbabasa ng kanyang libro dahil sa takot na silay umaasa sa kanya na isang masayahing anyo na Santa Claus at maari pa silang mabigo sa kanyang mas tahimik na persona. Si Steve Wozniak na siyang nakaimbento sa kauna-unahang Apple computer na nakaupong mag-isa sa kanyang kubiko sa Hewlett-Packard kung saan siya nagtrabaho noon. At sinabi niya na hindi sana siya maging eksperto sa unang pagkakataon kung hindi siya naging introvert para lisanin ang bahay nila nung siya ay lumalaki.
Now, of course, this does not mean that we should all stop collaborating -- and case in point, is Steve Wozniak famously coming together with Steve Jobs to start Apple Computer -- but it does mean that solitude matters and that for some people it is the air that they breathe. And in fact, we have known for centuries about the transcendent power of solitude. It's only recently that we've strangely begun to forget it. If you look at most of the world's major religions, you will find seekers -- Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad -- seekers who are going off by themselves alone to the wilderness, where they then have profound epiphanies and revelations that they then bring back to the rest of the community. So, no wilderness, no revelations.
Siyempre ngayon, hindi naman ito nangangahulugang titigil tayo sa pakikipagtulungan -- at sa puntong iyan, ay si Steve Wozniak ay kilalang nakikipagtambal kay Steve Jobs para umpisahan ang Apple Computer -- pero nangangahulugan lamang iyan na ang pagiging mapag-isa ay mahalaga at para sa ibang tao ito ay ang hangin na ating hinihinga. At sa katunayan, alam natin sa nakalipas na siglo hinggil sa transedenting kapangyarihan ng pag-iisa. Ngayon lang tila natin nalilimutan ito. Kung papansinin ninyo sa karamihan ng malalaking relihiyon sa daigdig, sa mga naghahanap -- Moses, Hesus, Buddha, Muhammad -- sila ay nagtungong mag-isa sa kaparangan na kung saan masiwalat nila ang mga malalim na epipanya at rebelasyon at tutungo na sila pabalik sa komunidad. Gayong walang kaparangan, walang rebelasyon.
This is no surprise, though, if you look at the insights of contemporary psychology. It turns out that we can't even be in a group of people without instinctively mirroring, mimicking their opinions. Even about seemingly personal and visceral things like who you're attracted to, you will start aping the beliefs of the people around you without even realizing that that's what you're doing.
Ngunit hindi na rin nakakagulat ang mga pananaw ng kontemporaryong sikologo. Nangyari na hindi tayo naroon sa isang grupo nang walang pangungopya sa kanilang pananaw. Kahat sa mga bagay na personal at pansarili gaya ng kanino ka nagkagusto, natutunan mong gumaya sa mga kuro-kuro ng mga tao sa paligid mo kahit na hindi mo namalayan na ginagawa mo pala ito.
And groups famously follow the opinions of the most dominant or charismatic person in the room, even though there's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas -- I mean zero. So --
At sa grupo kinikilala ang opinyon ng pinaka-dominate o karimateko sa lahat, kahit na wala naman talagang kaugnayan sa pagitan ng pagiging pinakamabuting mananalita at sa taong mayroong pinakamagandang ideya -- Ang ibig kong sabihin ay walang wala. Kaya ...
(Laughter)
(Tawanan)
You might be following the person with the best ideas, but you might not. And do you really want to leave it up to chance? Much better for everybody to go off by themselves, generate their own ideas freed from the distortions of group dynamics, and then come together as a team to talk them through in a well-managed environment and take it from there.
Maaring ika'y taga-sunod ng taong may pinakamagandang ideya, o maaring hindi. And mas gugustuhin mo ba talagang iiwan na lang ito sa kapalaran? Mas maganda sa lahat na tumungo sa kanilang sarili, maglikha ng sariling ideya lumiban sa mga distorsyon ng dinamiko sa loob ng grupo at pagkatapos ay magsamasama bilang isang pangkat para pag-usapan ito sa mas maayos na paligid at magsimula diyan.
Now if all this is true, then why are we getting it so wrong? Why are we setting up our schools this way, and our workplaces? And why are we making these introverts feel so guilty about wanting to just go off by themselves some of the time? One answer lies deep in our cultural history. Western societies, and in particular the U.S., have always favored the man of action over the "man" of contemplation. But in America's early days, we lived in what historians call a culture of character, where we still, at that point, valued people for their inner selves and their moral rectitude. And if you look at the self-help books from this era, they all had titles with things like "Character, the Grandest Thing in the World." And they featured role models like Abraham Lincoln, who was praised for being modest and unassuming. Ralph Waldo Emerson called him "A man who does not offend by superiority."
Kung gayong ito ay totoo, bakit tayo nagkakamali? Bakit ginagawa natin ang mga paaralan at pinagtatrabahuan ng ganito? At bakit pinakonsyensya natin ang mga introvert sa kanilang pag-iisa sa ilang panahon? Ang kasagutan ay nariyan sa kasaysayan ng ating kultura. Ang mga kanlurang lipunan, lalo na sa U.S., ay mas kinilala ang man of action kaysa man of contemplation at "man" of contemplation. Pero sa unang araw ng America, tayo ay nabubuhay sa tinatawag ng mga mananalaysay na culture of character, na kung saan, sa puntong iyon, ay pinahahalagahan pa natin ang tao sa kanilang kalooban at moralidad. At kung titingnan mo sa mga self-books ngayon, nariyan ang mga pamagat na "Karakter, ang Pinakadakilang Bagay sa Daigdig." At pinakilala ang mga bantog tulad ni Abraham Lincoln na pinuri sa kanyang mababang-loob at hindi hambog. Si Ralph Waldo Emerson ay kinilala siyang "Ang taong hindi naka-offend ng pagiging mataas na uri."
But then we hit the 20th century, and we entered a new culture that historians call the culture of personality. What happened is we had evolved an agricultural economy to a world of big business. And so suddenly people are moving from small towns to the cities. And instead of working alongside people they've known all their lives, now they are having to prove themselves in a crowd of strangers. So, quite understandably, qualities like magnetism and charisma suddenly come to seem really important. And sure enough, the self-help books change to meet these new needs and they start to have names like "How to Win Friends and Influence People." And they feature as their role models really great salesmen. So that's the world we're living in today. That's our cultural inheritance.
Pero bumaling tayo sa ika-dalawampung siglo at pumasok tayo sa bagong kultura na tinawag ng mga mananalaysay bilang culture of personality. Ang nangyari ay umunlad mula sa pagiging agrikultural sa mundo ng kalakalan. At biglang nagtungo ang mga tao mula sa maliliit na pueblo sa siyudad. At sa halip na mgatrabaho kasama ang mga taong kilala nila sa buong buhay ngayon ay pinapatunayan nila ang sarili sa mga estranghero. Kaya, medyo maliwanag, na ang mga katangian tulad ng magnetism at karesma ay biglang naging napaka-importante. At tiyak, na ang mga self-help books ay nagbago para matugugan itong bagong pangangailangan at nagsimula sila ng mga pangalang tulad ng "Paano Makakuha ng mga Kaibigan at Makaimpluwensya ng mga Tao." At ipinakilala nila ang mga modelo na mga magagaling na salesman. At iyan ang mundong kinalalagyan natin ngayon. Iyan ang iting bilin sa ating kultura.
Now none of this is to say that social skills are unimportant, and I'm also not calling for the abolishing of teamwork at all. The same religions who send their sages off to lonely mountain tops also teach us love and trust. And the problems that we are facing today in fields like science and in economics are so vast and so complex that we are going to need armies of people coming together to solve them working together. But I am saying that the more freedom that we give introverts to be themselves, the more likely that they are to come up with their own unique solutions to these problems.
Walang sinuman ang makakapagsabi na ang mga social skill ay hindi importante, at hindi rin ako nagtatawag para itigil ang teamwork. Ang mga perihong relihiyon na ipinadala ang kanilang mga pantas sa tuktok ng bundok ay nagtuturo din sa atin ng pagmamahal at pagtitiwala. At ang problemang hinaharap natin ngayon sa agham at ekonomiya ay napakalawak at masalimuot at kinakailangan natin ng mga hukbo ng taong nagkaisang para solbahin ang problema. Pero ako'y nagsasabi na mas bigyan natin ng kalayaan ang mga intovert sa pagiging sila, mas makakabuo sila ng kanilang natatanging solusyon sa mga problema.
So now I'd like to share with you what's in my suitcase today. Guess what? Books. I have a suitcase full of books. Here's Margaret Atwood, "Cat's Eye." Here's a novel by Milan Kundera. And here's "The Guide for the Perplexed" by Maimonides. But these are not exactly my books. I brought these books with me because they were written by my grandfather's favorite authors.
Kaya ngayon gusto kong maibatid sa inyo kung ano meron sa aking mga maleta ngayon. Hulaan ninyo? Mga libro. Punong puno ang maleta ko ng libro. Ito ang kay Margaret Atwood na "Cat's Eye." Ito naman ang nobeka ni Milan Kundera. At ito ang "The Guide fot the Perplexed" ni Maimonides. Pero hindi ko talaga mga libro ito. Dinala ko lang ito ngayon
My grandfather was a rabbi and he was a widower who lived alone in a small apartment in Brooklyn that was my favorite place in the world when I was growing up, partly because it was filled with his very gentle, very courtly presence and partly because it was filled with books. I mean literally every table, every chair in this apartment had yielded its original function to now serve as a surface for swaying stacks of books. Just like the rest of my family, my grandfather's favorite thing to do in the whole world was to read.
dahil sinulat sila ng mga manunulat na paborito ng aking lola. Ang aking lolo ay isang rabbi at isang biyodo na nanirahan sa isang maliit na apartmnet sa Brooklyn na yun ang pinakapaborito kong lugar nung akoy lumalaki, bahagya dahil puno iyon ng kanyang mayumi at magalang na presensya at bahagya dahil punong puno ito ng mga libro. Literal ang pagkakasabi ko na bawat mesa at bawat upuan sa apartment ay nadaig ang orihinal nitong selbi at nagiging patungan na lang ng mga imbak ng libro. Tulad din sa amin, ang pinakapaboritong gawin ng aking lolo ay ang pagbabasa.
But he also loved his congregation, and you could feel this love in the sermons that he gave every week for the 62 years that he was a rabbi. He would takes the fruits of each week's reading and he would weave these intricate tapestries of ancient and humanist thought. And people would come from all over to hear him speak.
Pero mahal rin nya ang kanyang kongregisyon, at maramdaman mo itong pagmamahal sa kanyang mga sermon sa bawat linggo sa loob ng 62 na taon niya na pagiging rabbi. Iipunin niya ang bunga ng bawat linggong pagbabasa at ang mga tepiserya ng maka-antigo at humistikong isipan. Ang mga tao ay dumarating mula sa iba dako para marinig siyang magsalita.
But here's the thing about my grandfather. Underneath this ceremonial role, he was really modest and really introverted -- so much so that when he delivered these sermons, he had trouble making eye contact with the very same congregation that he had been speaking to for 62 years. And even away from the podium, when you called him to say hello, he would often end the conversation prematurely for fear that he was taking up too much of your time. But when he died at the age of 94, the police had to close down the streets of his neighborhood to accommodate the crowd of people who came out to mourn him. And so these days I try to learn from my grandfather's example in my own way.
Pero may isang bagay meron sa aking lolo. Sa loob ng kanyang pansiremonyang tungkulin, isa siyang tunay nga na kung magbigay siya ng sermon, naging mahirap sa kanya ang pagkaroon ng eye contact sa mismong kongregisyon na pinagsasalitaan sa loob ng 62 taon. At kahit malayo sa pulpito, kung babatiin mo siya, ay susubukin niyang matapos ang pakikipag-usap ng mas maaga dahil sa takot na kinukuha niya ang oras mo. Pero namatay siya sa gulang na 94, ang polisya ay sinara ang mga kalsada sa kanyang distrito para matanggap ang mga tao na dumarating para pagluksaan ang kanyang pagpanaw. At sa ngyon gusto kong matutuo sa mga ihemplo ng aking lolo sa aking paraan.
So I just published a book about introversion, and it took me about seven years to write. And for me, that seven years was like total bliss, because I was reading, I was writing, I was thinking, I was researching. It was my version of my grandfather's hours of the day alone in his library. But now all of a sudden my job is very different, and my job is to be out here talking about it, talking about introversion.
Kaya isinulat ko ang isang libro hinggil sa introbersiyon, at umabot ng pitong taon para ito masulat.. At par sa akin, yun pitong taon na iyon ay lubos na kaligayahan, dahil ako ay nagbasa, nagsulat nag-isip, nagsaliksik. Iyon ang aking bersyon ng pag-iisa ng aking lolo sa kanyang aklatan. Pero ngayon ay biglang nabago ang aking trabaho, at ang aking trabaho ay pumarito at magsalita hinggil duon, magsalita tungkol sa introbersiyon.
(Laughter)
(Tawanan)
And that's a lot harder for me, because as honored as I am to be here with all of you right now, this is not my natural milieu.
At yan ay bagay na mahirap sa akin, dahil karangalangan ko ang pumarito sa inyong lahat ngayon,
So I prepared for moments like these as best I could.
ito ay hindi ang kinagisnan kong kapaligiran.
I spent the last year practicing public speaking every chance I could get. And I call this my "year of speaking dangerously."
Kaya inihanda ko ang aking sarili para sa pagkakataong ganito sa abot ng aking makakaya. Ginugol ko ang aking sarili sa nakaraang taon para sa public speaking sa bawat pagkakataong makuha ko. At tinawag ko itong aking "taon ng peligrosong pagsasalita."
(Laughter)
(Tawanan)
And that actually helped a lot. But I'll tell you, what helps even more is my sense, my belief, my hope that when it comes to our attitudes to introversion and to quiet and to solitude, we truly are poised on the brink on dramatic change. I mean, we are. And so I am going to leave you now with three calls for action for those who share this vision.
At talagang nakatulong iyon sa akin. Pero ito aysabihin ko sa inyo, kung ano ang mas nakatulong sa akin ay ang aking diwa, ang aking paniniwala, ang aking pag-asa na sa pagdating ng ating saloobin sa introbersiyon at sa katahimikan at sa pag-iisa tayo ay nariyan sa gilid ng pagbabago. Ibig sabihin na tayo. At ibig kong iwan kayo nitong tatlong tawag sa pagkilos
Number one: Stop the madness for constant group work. Just stop it.
para sa naka-ugnay nitong pananaw. Una: Ipigil ang kalokohan ng walang hangang group work.
(Laughter)
Itigil lang yan.
Thank you.
(Tawanan)
(Applause)
Salamat.
And I want to be clear about what I'm saying, because I deeply believe our offices should be encouraging casual, chatty cafe-style types of interactions -- you know, the kind where people come together and serendipitously have an exchange of ideas. That is great. It's great for introverts and it's great for extroverts. But we need much more privacy and much more freedom and much more autonomy at work. School, same thing. We need to be teaching kids to work together, for sure, but we also need to be teaching them how to work on their own. This is especially important for extroverted children too. They need to work on their own because that is where deep thought comes from in part.
(Palakpakan) At gusto kung maging malinaw sa aking sasabihin, dahil naniniwala ako na ang ating mga opisina ay dapat naghihikayat ng kaswal, yung tulad sa kapehan na interaksiyon -- alam mo na, yung tipong nagsama-sama ang mga tao at di-sinasadyang nagpalitan ng mga ideya. Yun ay mahusay. Iyon ay mabuti para sa mga introvert at mabuti para sa mga extrovert. Pero kailangan natin ng mas magiging pribado at mas maging malaya at mas may otonomidad sa trabaho. Sa eskwelahan ay ganun din. Kailangan nating ituto sa mga bata ang pagtutulungan, siyempre, pero kailangan din natin silang turuang magtrabaho sa sariling paraan. Importante ito lalo na sa mga batang extrovert. Kailangan nilang magtrabaho nang mag-isa dahil diyan nagmumula ang malalim na kaisipan.
Okay, number two: Go to the wilderness. Be like Buddha, have your own revelations. I'm not saying that we all have to now go off and build our own cabins in the woods and never talk to each other again, but I am saying that we could all stand to unplug and get inside our own heads a little more often.
Okay, pangalawa: Tumungo sa kaparangan. Maging kapareho ni Buddha, gumawa ka ng iyong rebelasyon. Hindi ko sinasabing tumungo tayong lahat ngayon sa bundok at mag-yari ng ating dampa at di na mag-uusap sa isa't isa, pero ang gusto kong sabihin ay ating hukayin ang meron sa ating utak nang mas madalas pa.
Number three: Take a good look at what's inside your own suitcase and why you put it there. So extroverts, maybe your suitcases are also full of books. Or maybe they're full of champagne glasses or skydiving equipment. Whatever it is, I hope you take these things out every chance you get and grace us with your energy and your joy. But introverts, you being you, you probably have the impulse to guard very carefully what's inside your own suitcase. And that's okay. But occasionally, just occasionally, I hope you will open up your suitcases for other people to see, because the world needs you and it needs the things you carry.
Pangatlo: Tingnang mabuti kung anong meron sa loob ng iyong maleta at bakit mo inilagay yun. Kaya mga extrovert, marahil ang inyong maleta ay puno din ng mga libro. O marahil ay ng mga champagne glasses o kagamitan sa skydiving. Kung ano man ang meron, ako'y umaas na sana ang mga ito nailabas mo sa bawat pagkakataon at bigyan kami ng biyaya ng iyong enerhiya at kaligayahan. Pero sa mga introvert, ikaw bilang ikaw, marahil ay mayroon kang paghihimok para bantayan nang maigi kung ano man meron sa loob ng iyong maleta. At yun ay okay lang. Pero paminsan-minsan, paminsan-minsan lang, nais ko sanang buksan mo ang iyong maleta para makita ang loob nito sa iba, dahil ang daigdig ay kailangan ka at kailangan nito ang mga bagay na iyong dinadala.
So I wish you the best of all possible journeys and the courage to speak softly.
Kaya, ninanais ko ang pinakamabuti sa lahat ng mga paglalakbay at ang kagitingan para magsalita ng mahina.
Thank you very much.
Maraming salamat.
(Applause)
(Palakpakan)
Thank you. Thank you.
Salamat. Salamat.
(Applause)
(Palakpakan)