I must say that, beyond occasionally exposing me to laughter, my
constitutional shyness has been no disadvantage whatsoever. In fact, I
can see that, on the contrary, it has been all to my advantage. My
hesitancy in speech, which was once an annoyance, is now a pleasure.
Its greatest benefit is that it has taught me the economy of words. I
have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts. And I can
now give myself the certificate that a thoughtless word hardly ever
escapes my tongue or pen. I do not recollect ever having to regret
anything in my speech or writing. I have thus been spared many a mishap
and waste of time. Experience has taught me that silence is part of the
spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. Proneness to exaggerate, to
suppress or modify the truth, wittingly or unwittingly, is a natural
weakness of man, and silence is necessary in order to surmount it. A
man of few words will rarely be thoughtless in his speech; he will
measure every word. We find so many people impatient to talk. There is
no chairman of a meeting who is not pestered with notes for permission
to speak. And whenever the permission is given the speaker generally
exceeds the time-limit, asks for more time, and keeps on talking without
permission. All this talking can hardly be said to be of any benefit to
the world. It is so much waste of time. My shyness has been in reality
my shield and butler. It has allowed me to grow. It has helped me in
my discernment of truth.
-- Gandhi