This is Google’s definition of broken:
“having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order.”
But what does a person no longer in working order act like? How does a fractured or damaged person behave? To be fractured or broken or not in working order there must be some initial concept of whole and complete, some “prime” state? But what is that universal idea of a perfect person? Do you know? I don’t know.
There’s no such thing as a broken human being. Each person is changing and evolving. Each person is different. Each person is unique. Making a big sweeping generalization about the perfect person would ignore the concept of genetic diversity. Being different is in our DNA.
While there are no universal perfect human being, there are cultural preferences. Susan Cain’s book Quiet touches on this and describes the experiences of Don, a Chinese-American. During a stay in China for a summer job, Don found that in China “there was more emphasis on listening, on asking questions rather than holding forth.” In Quiet Cain also described how there have been changes within American culture too, and Cain’s book explores the idea that the US used to be a “Culture of Character,” which valued honor and discipline, but with the rise of the industrial revolution has become a “Culture of Personality.”
While we may still be living in a culture of personality, to suggest that introverts are broken is ridiculous. Introverts make up 50% of the US population. Just like extroverts we’re entrepreneurs and leaders and artists and the boy next door. We’re Eleanor Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Susan Cain, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk.
So, are introverts broken? No. We are not.
Introverts aren’t broken. We’re exactly who we’re supposed to be. And the people who tell you that we’re broken, well, they need new glasses. They can’t look past their prejudices to see your strengths. So it’s up to you to believe in and use your own strengths despite what others may say.
Do you agree that introverts aren’t broken, but think we’re at a disadvantage when it comes to building a tribe on social media? We can totally thrive on social media. Book a complimentary 45 minute Deep Dive session. Let’s pinpoint what’s stopping you from creating a successful online presence so you can start showing up as yourself online and bring in your ideal clients.
I don’t believe that [all] introverts are broken but I do believe that individual introverts can be broken.
Let me explain.
Each individual sets their own standard of self actualization and if your standard is yay high and some circumstance causes that standards to be “fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order”, then yes a part of you is broken.
The beautiful thing about being broken is that
1. you can be fixed
2. you learn a heck of a lot in the process.
And all of that adds to the process of evolution. It makes us even more unique and enables us to be able to better withstand more pressure that might want to break us again in the future.
Thanks for your comment Julia. Whether individuals can be broken is a whole other discussion! 🙂 So in that situation is it the individuals that are broken or the standards that are broken? And if a part of you (your standards) is broken, then does that mean that all of you is broken?