We assume extroverts have the edge.
They speak up in meetings.
They network.
They pitch.
They dominate the conversation.
And introverts?
They sit quietly.
Think deeply.
Code silently.
And get overlooked.
But here’s what no one tells you:
Introverts are sitting on a superpower.
The Energy Leak You Don’t Notice
Let’s say you’re excited about building something new.
You start talking about it.
You post it. You tweet it. You tell your friends.
They cheer you on.
It feels good.
Too good.
But that’s the trap, you’re getting rewarded before you’ve done anything.
The brain confuses that praise for progress.
So your motivation dips.
Your focus scatters.
Your energy leaks.
Introverts Don’t Leak. They Store.
Introverts are less likely to talk before doing.
They don’t need to be seen.
They don’t need to announce.
They need to build.
Here’s the truth:
The ones who talk about building things rarely build anything remarkable.
The ones who build remarkable things rarely talk about it until it's built.
This is why the quietest engineers often end up:
Leading the most important projects
Solving the most critical problems
Building the tools everyone else depends on
Not because they spoke the most impressively.
But because they built while others talked.
Freud Knew This. So Did the Monks.
Freud once said:
“Language is a substitute for action.”
In simple terms: the more we talk, the less we do.
Even ancient monks knew this.
Dr. K is a psychiatrist who once trained to be a monk.
He shared a story about being given a secret mantra:
The instructions were simple but strict: never tell anyone your mantra.
Why?
Because speaking would drain its power.
This ancient wisdom carries a modern truth:
When you keep your plans to yourself, they grow stronger within you.
Final Thoughts
Try this experiment:
For your next project, tell absolutely no one what you're building.
No social media posts.
No excited updates to friends.
No presentations about your "upcoming" work.
Just build. In silence. Until it works.
Then, and only then, show the world.
You might be surprised at how much faster you finish.
How much cleaner your code is.
How much stronger your motivation stays.
Because when we stop seeking applause, we start chasing excellence.
As an introvert, I love this quote: “Language is a substitute for action.”
We lead by doing, not talking.
When you listen, you are attuned to the nuances of the moment and the details that others miss.