评论
打印
The modern world purports to respect both introverts and their opposites but in practice, the glory all goes to the extroverts.
现代世界声称尊重内向的人和外向的人，但实际上，荣耀都属于外向的人。
To have any chance of seeming normal or achieving success, one has to impress strangers, attend conferences, make speeches, outshine competitors, manage people, join in with prevailing enthusiasms, socialise, travel a lot, go out often and date widely.
要想有任何看起来正常或取得成功的机会，一个人必须给陌生人留下深刻印象，参加会议，发表演讲，超越竞争对手，管理人员，以极大的热情参与活动，进行社交，经常旅行，经常外出，广泛约会。
It can take a very long time before we realise that – however much we might hope for this to be otherwise – this is not in fact us at all.
我们可能需要很长时间才能意识到--无论我们多么希望情况不是这样--这实际上根本不是我们。
For our part, we happen to get very worried before going to parties, we have felt close to death before giving speeches,
就我们而言，在参加派对之前，我们碰巧非常担心，在演讲之前，我们感觉濒临死亡，
any kind of social occasion perturbs us heavily, we’re left extremely jittery by encounters with news and social media,
任何一种社交场合都会让我们严重不安，新闻和社交媒体让我们非常紧张，
we start to feel sick if we haven’t had the chance to sit on our own and process our thoughts for a few hours every day,
如果我们每天没有机会坐下来处理我们的想法，我们就会开始感到恶心，
we’re very awkward about having to be responsible for anyone at work and we are extremely wary of jolliness or demonstrations of group fervour.
我们对于不得不对工作中的任何人负责感到难处理，我们对欢乐或集体热情的表现非常警惕。
Conversely, we adore staying at home, we’d be quite happy spending a whole weekend (or even a few years) in our own company with some books and a laptop,
相反，我们喜欢呆在家里，我们很乐意花整个周末(甚至几年)呆在自己的公司里，带着一些书籍和一台笔记本电脑，
we only properly like about three people in the world, we love exploring different rooms in our minds, we are reassured by friends who know how to confess their vulnerability and anxiety,
我们只喜欢世界上的三个人就够了，我们喜欢探索我们大脑中的不同房间，那些知道如何坦白自己的脆弱和焦虑的朋友会让我们感到安心，
we’d like never to have to go to a party again, we almost never complain that things are too quiet and we love peaceful landscapes and uneventful days.
我们希望再也不用去参加聚会，我们几乎从不抱怨事情太安静，我们喜欢宁静的风景和平静的日子。
We quite like flowers too.
我们也很喜欢花。
All of this can bring intense suspicion to bear on us in the modern world.
在现代世界，所有这些都会给我们带来强烈的猜疑。
Why are we so timid?
我们为什么这么胆怯呢？
Why can’t we sing along with everyone else?
为什么我们不能和其他人一起唱歌呢？
Why aren’t we coming out to celebrate?
我们为什么不出来庆祝呢？
We conclude that we are weird and possibly ill long before we can accept that we may just be very different.
早在我们能够接受我们可能只是与众不同之前，我们就已经得出结论，我们是怪异的，可能生病了。
To be an introvert is to be constantly impacted by undercurrents and hidden electricity in situations that others will miss.
作为一个内向的人，在别人会错过的情况下，会不断地被暗流和隐藏的电流所影响。
What can make a party or a company meeting so exhausting for us is that we aren’t merely expressing our thoughts and chatting,
派对或公司会议让我们如此疲惫的原因是，我们不仅仅是在表达自己的想法、闲聊，
we’ll wonder what everyone has made of what we’ve just said,
我们想知道大家对我们刚才说的话有什么看法，
we’ll suspect that we have failed to understand an important dynamic,
我们会怀疑我们没有理解一个重要的动态，
we’ll be struck by a peculiar possible hostility from someone in the corner,
我们会被某个角落里的人可能产生的敌意所震惊，
we’ll worry that our face has stuck in an unfortunate, gormless position.
我们会担心我们的脸面陷入了一个不幸的、愚蠢的位置。
We are – when called upon – canny observers of the human comedy, but minute by minute, we are also hellishly and exhaustingly self-conscious.
当我们被召唤时，我们是人类喜剧的精明观察者，但一分一秒过去了，我们的自我意识也变得异常强烈和精疲力尽。
It sounds difficult, but an introverted life can also be a very grateful and rich life.
这听起来很难，但内向的生活也可以是非常感恩和丰富的生活。
We need so much less in order to have enough.
我们需要的东西要少得多，才能得到足够的东西。
We don’t require noise and attention.We don’t care where the giant party is.
我们不需要噪音和注意力。我们不在乎大型派对在哪里。
We just want to potter around in our boring clothes, chat to the few people we feel comfortable with, take walks and lie in the bath a lot.
我们只想穿着黯淡乏味的衣服四处走动，和少数几个我们觉得舒服的人聊天，散步，躺在浴缸里。
There can be so much in things if we let them resonate properly.
如果我们能让事情适当地做起来，事物就会有很多。
How much we’ve already seen; how many journeys we’ve already been on; how much we’ve already read; what tumults we’ve already been through.
我们已经看到了多少风景; 我们已经走过多少次旅程; 我们已经读了多少书; 我们已经经历了多少次动荡。
We don’t really need more.
我们真的不需要更多了。
We're like children who don't need too much stimulation from outside.
我们就像不需要外界太多刺激的孩子。
An hour at a lively birthday party and it's imperative for us to go straight home and have a nap.
在一个热闹的生日聚会上呆了一个小时，我们必须直接回家打个盹。
Recognising our introverted nature is not merely a piece of poetic self-knowledge.
认识到我们性格内向不仅仅是一种诗意的自知。
It belongs to our mental health – for failing to make the correct accommodation with our introversion is a fast route to overload and ensuing anxiety and paranoia.
这才是我们的心理健康——因为如果不能正确地适应我们的内向，就会导致超负荷以及随之而来的焦虑和偏执。
What we term a breakdown is often simply an introverted mind crying out for greater peace, rest, self-compassion and harmony.
我们所说的崩溃通常仅仅是一个内向的心灵在呼唤更大的平静、休息、自我同情和和谐。
Experienced introverts therefore realise a need to push against the extroverted agenda.
因此，有经验的内向者意识到有必要打破外向者的议程。
Their sanity relies on being able to cleave to the insular routines they need.
他们的理智有赖于能够坚守他们所需要的与世隔绝的惯例。
We have at least got a vocabulary for explaining the structure of our personalities to others.
我们至少有了一个词汇表，可以用来向别人解释我们的性格结构。
The next step will be to learn how to honour it – and properly allow people to lead the quieter lives their temperaments crave and deserve.
下一步将是学习如何尊重我们的性格-并适当地让人们过上他们的性情渴望和应得的更平静的生活。
