Meet 3 saints who show us how to make a powerful impact in quieter ways.
This is an extrovert’s world, we all know that. As someone who spent most nights growing up listening to music alone in my room while drawing, I don’t get too fussed about it. If being an introvert means I’m doomed to long afternoons of perfect contentment with a cup of coffee and a novel while lounging on the back patio and not having to make small talk, I guess I’ll suffer with this INTJ personality that God has handed me. I picture all the extroverts out there, laughing it up with new people at loud bars, high-fiving while playing team sports, and talking on their phones in the middle of the grocery store … and I shudder.
I’m not against extroverts. I even have a few outgoing friends. There’s a reason extroverts more or less rule the world as the popular kids in school who later grab up all the high-powered sales executive jobs by dint of the sheer force of personality. It’s because they’re really likable.
But sometimes it seems they get all the glory, and there’s a common misconception about introverts that they’re shy or anti-social. Introverts are caricatured as the librarian who doesn’t have the energy to keep up with a fast-paced world and has withdrawn entirely. True, an introvert may have a hard time being a rock star, a politician, or a TV personality.
That doesn’t mean introverts can’t change the world. It just means their influence isn’t as readily apparent, because they relate to people in quieter, more intimate ways. There’s more than one way to change the world, and these famous, introverted saints each serve as an example of how anyone can leave a lasting mark for good.