Some people are shy. Some people are not…
Social anxiety and shyness can be really difficult to overcome. Being shy and suffering with social anxiety can sometimes be the biggest road block when it comes to making new friends, meeting new people and expressing yourself. Some people are born shy, others are shy because things like bullying or a of lack of confidence and sometimes need a lil boost to get them back to top form.
Whatever the reason, shyness can hold you back in so many different ways. Some people don’t feel like they can ever be themselves or only feel relaxed when in a very small group of close mates. Depending on the person, sometimes it means missing out on opportunities and events due to that feeling of dread when faced with a new situation. We came up with some ways to try and boost your confidence when the shyness kicks in…
Tips for Overcoming Shyness
1. Keep on keepin’ on. Shyness sometimes comes about due to a fear of rejection. Rejection is something that we all have faced at some point during our lives. Whether it’s rejection in love, in work or between friends, don’t let that fear hold you back, resilience is key and if at first, you don’t succeed, pick yourself up and try again. Check out this article to find out the truth about rejection.
2. Push yourself. Overcoming shyness is about coming out of your comfort zone. Even something like answering the phone at work, or knocking next door for a parcel seems like the most daunting thing at the time but with hindsight, you think, ‘well, that was no big deal’. Take a deep breath and push yourself a tiny bit each time, you’ll be surprised what you’re capable of and how quickly it becomes easier.
3. Simply being around people will slowly build up your confidence. You’ll soon find that you trust yourself to speak up in discussions and learn to relax a bit more when around other people.
4. Nurture your talents. If you’re good at something like cooking, running, music or makeup – nurture it. It may not be groundbreaking, prodigious talent but if you channel that nervous energy into an activity, you’ll feel ten times better about yourself when you see it improve. It also provides a great talking point for conversations when you run out of things to say and things get awkward – we all know that feeling!
5. Work on your confidence – check out this article on 10 Things You Need to Know about Confidence. Shyness has a lot to do with lacking self-confidence to get yourself out there.
6. Talk to people about it. Ok, so we’ve established that you might not be the best as talking, but have you noticed how much easier it is to talk to like minded people who share similar experiences? Find out here.
7. Some people are just shy. Some people are just shier than others and that’s ok too. Take our quiz to determine if you’re an introvert, extrovert or somewhere in-between!
If you want to talk to someone about your self-confidence, or shyness or you want to start a conversation with other people about shyness as a result of bullying, do that here and talk to a digital mentor.
