Being a Wallflower Is a Blessing, Not a Curse: 36 Quotes About Being Quiet and Shy

Do you feel guilty for being shy? Does your shyness make you uncomfortable around people or while attending social events? If so, my selection of quotes about being quiet and shy may help you embrace your timidity.

Unfortunately, we live in a society that prioritizes bold social butterflies that talk a lot (or maybe even too much). Therefore, shy people are often seen as rude, dull, and arrogant.

But you know what? Not everyone has to be extrovert, chatty, and open about their lives. Being shy is completely alright — it doesn’t make you less worthy or uninteresting.

With this in mind, I’ve decided to collect my favorite quotes about being quiet and shy to help you out.

36 Quotes About Being Quiet and Shy for All You Introverts Out There

Relatable Quotes About Being Quiet and Shy

#1. “I think a lot, but I don’t say much.” — Anne Frank

#2. “I’m very shy and awkward; I can’t have a normal conversation, and then people think I’m being a bit rude, but really I’m not.” — Eliot Sumner

#3. “Not a lot of people know me outside of athletics and believe it or not I am actually quite shy. The exhilaration of a win or tears after falling are the extremes. It takes me a while to get to know someone, but once I do I am very loyal to my old friends.” — Sally Pearson

#4. “Don’t underestimate me. I know more than I say, think more than I speak, notice more than you realize.” — Unknown

#5. “Please, be patient with me. Sometimes when I’m quiet, it’s because I need to figure myself out. It’s not because I don’t want to talk. Sometimes there are no words for my thoughts.” — Kamla Bolaños

#6. “I was quiet, but I was not blind.” ― Jane Austen

#7. “I’m not open to many people. I’m usually quiet and I don’t really like attention. So if I like you enough to show you the real me, you must be very special.” — Unknown

#8. “I was never less alone than when by myself.” — Edward Gibbon

#9. “It was always that way for me. After I opened myself to someone, I needed a few minutes to close down again, to restore my sense of privacy.” ― Dia Reeves

#10. “I have reason to be shy. I’ve been hurt plenty.” — Ethel Waters

#11. “My feelings are too loud for words and too shy for the world.” — Dejan Stojanovic

Empowering Quotes About Being Quiet and Shy

#12. “The humble ones are always learning and improving, and their secret is always that it’s a secret.” ― Criss Jami

#13. “I’ve always been shy physically. This in part tended to keep me from rushing into things, including relationships, headlong. Not rushing headlong, though I may have wanted to. But beginning to write stories about people, I drew near slowly; noting and guessing, apprehending, hoping, drawing my eventual conclusions out of my own heart, I did venture closer to where I wanted to go.” ― Eudora Welty

#14. “Never assume that loud is strong and quiet is weak.” — Unknown

#15. “When a shy person smiles, it’s like the sun coming out.” — Anita Diament

#16. “A shy face is better than a forward heart.” — Miguel De Cervantes

#17. “The way you overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.” — Claudia Lady Bird Johnson

#18. “Quiet people always know more than they seem. Although very normal, their inner world is by default fronted mysterious and therefore assumed weird. Never underestimate the social awareness and sense of reality in a quiet person; they are some of the most observant, absorbent persons of all.” ― Criss Jami

#19. “The day I began to live is the day I discovered being an introvert was awesome.” — Maxime Lagacé

#20. “My silence could mean you are not worth the argument.” — Unknown

#21. “The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulate the creative mind.” — Albert Einstein

#22. “The flower that smells the sweetest is shy and lowly.” — William Wordsworth

#23. “It’s not the end if you’re too shy to say ‘I love you.’ It’s only the beginning; because you’re first meant to show it anyway.” ― Criss Jami

Wise and Deep Quotes About Being Quiet and Shy

#24. “Sometimes quiet people really do have a lot to say. They’re just being careful about who they open up to.” — Susan Gale

#25. “Confidence is silent. Insecurities are loud.” — Unknown

#26. “Silence is a fence around wisdom.” — German proverb

#27. “It is often asked why the greatest performers are so timid in private. Confident people get attention naturally. Shy people must do something extraordinary or outrageous to have similar recognition.” ― Stewart Stafford

#28. “A shy failure is nobler than an immodest success.” — Kahlil Gibran

#29. “The shy man does have some slight revenge upon society for the torture it inflicts upon him.” — Jerome K. Jerome

#30. “Everyone is shy — it is the inborn modesty that makes us able to live in harmony with other creatures and our fellows. Achievement comes not by denying shyness but, occasionally, by setting it aside and letting pride and perspiration come first.” — Kirkpatrick Sale

#31. “Silence is a source of great strength.” — Lao Tzu

#32. “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” — Plato

#33. “Silence is beautiful, not awkward. The human tendency to be afraid of something beautiful is awkward.” — Elliot Kay

#34. “Quiet people have the loudest minds.” — Stephen Hawking

#35. “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” — Abraham Lincoln

#36. “Shy is the oyster, fervent is the clam, peaceful is the ocean floor rocked by the sands of time.” — Bradley Chicho

Bottom Line

As you can see, there is nothing wrong with your shyness. Hopefully, these quotes about being quiet and shy will help you accept this trait as a crucial part of who you really are.

Being shy doesn’t make you dull or stupid. It won’t stop you from making great friendships or reaching your life goals. Embrace your inner wallflower and the world may become your oyster.