The Bold and the Bashful

Hello, everyone,

We all certainly have personality traits that distinguish us from each other. Unit three tells us about two very specific features, which are boldness and bashfulness. In my view, it is funny to see that people would talk about these two features as completely separated from each other to describe others. That is, I do not believe they can be used this way.

We cannot use either of these adjectives to entirely describe a person because no one is one thing or the other in its entirety. That is to say, even the people you might consider that possess a great amount of boldness are somehow also bashful, and the same thing occurs with people who are bashful; they can also be bold depending on the circumstances. I was very curious about how these two terms were being employed since in my particular case, even though I am more of an introvert, I consider myself to be both bold and bashful. I am selectively one thing or the other, and the degree to which I can act in a certain way would be intimately bound up with the situation.

It is also curious to me the way bashful people are regarded. For some reason, bashfulness is referred to as if it were something bad, a problem that needs fixing. In addition, it is so much so, that books have been written as to how to overcome shyness so you can fit in society. This also shocked me in a way because I consider each feature to be just as important, meaning they should not be fought against since neither can exist at 100%. If that were the case, we would have asylums overcrowded for sure. I think each feature is important because each, in its own way, provides different things to society. There should be some balance between them, and bashfulness must cease to be regarded as it is nowadays, for the power of an introvert could be greater than you can possibly fathom. 

I carried out some research taking into account that in our cultures, extroverts are often seen as the right thing to be. Introverts are underestimated, and others try to fix them. Being social and outgoing are prized above all else making it harder to be an introvert. Nevertheless, I came across a very passionate lady, Susan Cain, who talks about how introverts bring extraordinary talents and abilities to the world. Therefore, they should be encouraged and celebrated instead of being taken for granted.

I invite you to watch this video by TEDTalks called 'The Power of Introverts', where Susan Cain talks about this very interesting matter. If you do not know where you stand on the topic or are simply confused, by the end of this video, I am pretty sure you will have the right mindset to further understand and try to get your own viewpoint on it. Please click on play on the video below 👇, and I hope you will enjoy it!

Stanly Santos