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The tyranny of positivity is the cultural message that all of us are sent that no matter what is happening, we should be putting on a happy face, that we should be soldiering through it and whistling cheerfully. I call it the tyranny of positivity and some people call it toxic positivity. What it really is, is a cultural directive that says, Whatever you do, don't tell the truth of what it's like to be alive.

We've known about the transcendent power of solitude for centuries; it's only recently that we've forgotten it.

Our lives are shaped as profoundly by personality as by gender or race. And the single most important aspect of personality … is where we fall on the introvert-extrovert spectrum.

I've concluded that bittersweetness is not, as we tend to think, just a momentary feeling or event. It's also a quiet force, a way of being, a storied tradition—as dramatically overlooked as it is brimming with human potential. It's an authentic and elevating response to the problem of being alive in a deeply flawed yet stubbornly beautiful world.

The key to maximizing talents is to put yourself into the zone of stimulation that’s right for you.

Longing is the great human state.

There is zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.

"Expressive writing" encourages us to see our misfortunes not as flaws that make us unfit for worldly success (or otherworldly heaven), but as the seeds of our growth.

Where we fall on the introvert-extrovert spectrum... influences our choice of friends and partners, and how we make conversation, resolve differences and show love. It affects the careers we choose and whether or not we succeed at them.

We like art forms that express our longing for union, and for a more perfect and beautiful world.

In fact, you could say that what orients a person to the bittersweet is a heightened awareness of finality.

Our culture is biased against quiet and reserved people, but introverts are responsible for some of humanity's greatest achievements.