How Overcoming Shyness and Social Anxiety Changed My Life
My story was all too typical.
I was the middle child in a family of 5.
As far back as I could remember, I was painfully shy and self-conscious.
I was the least athletic, and the least academically gifted of my family and this has always undermined my self-worth.
Both my parents were successful professionals, and they were always boasting about their success.
My older brother seemed to follow in their footsteps: straight As, tennis trophies and the school's debate team star.
I always paled in comparison.
I also had very few friends growing up, and even fewer dates.
My parents had just accepted that I am the ugly duckling of the family; the duckling who will never turn into a swan! After graduating from college, I decided to move away and try to start my life anew: no outside influences, no expectations, and no pressure.
You have to understand that this was a very difficult step for a person who was too shy and anxious to attend their own prom; but I went ahead with it anyway.
I realized that I will never overcome my shyness and social anxiety if I continue to live in the shadow of my successful family.
This realization came to be as I met Jenny.
Jenny was the girl I had a crush on in high school, but was too shy to ask her to the prom.
I told myself that she will not want a shy, goofy, person like me-she would probably want to go out with someone socially apt like my big brother.
I had learnt years later, just after I graduated, through a common friend that Jenny liked me too but was too shy to ask me out! It was right there and then that I realized that if I do not overcome this incapacitating shyness and destructive social anxiety I will be doomed to a life of missed opportunities.
If you suffer from shyness, social anxiety, or any incapacitating phobias, I urge you to take control of your life.
Do not let the years slip by.
There is a whole world out there waiting for you.
It can be done, and I say so because I know that if I can overcome my shyness, I am sure anyone can.
While there are many paths to overcoming social anxiety and shyness, the essential first step is to remove any toxic influences you have in your life.
You should immediately exclude anyone who belittles you or puts you down.
Because in order to succeed, you have to create an environment conducive to your plans in overcoming your shyness.
Good luck on this journey of self-discovery, and believe me, at the end, when you can be out in a crowd and no longer be that sweaty, shy, anxious person it will all be worthwhile.
I was the middle child in a family of 5.
As far back as I could remember, I was painfully shy and self-conscious.
I was the least athletic, and the least academically gifted of my family and this has always undermined my self-worth.
Both my parents were successful professionals, and they were always boasting about their success.
My older brother seemed to follow in their footsteps: straight As, tennis trophies and the school's debate team star.
I always paled in comparison.
I also had very few friends growing up, and even fewer dates.
My parents had just accepted that I am the ugly duckling of the family; the duckling who will never turn into a swan! After graduating from college, I decided to move away and try to start my life anew: no outside influences, no expectations, and no pressure.
You have to understand that this was a very difficult step for a person who was too shy and anxious to attend their own prom; but I went ahead with it anyway.
I realized that I will never overcome my shyness and social anxiety if I continue to live in the shadow of my successful family.
This realization came to be as I met Jenny.
Jenny was the girl I had a crush on in high school, but was too shy to ask her to the prom.
I told myself that she will not want a shy, goofy, person like me-she would probably want to go out with someone socially apt like my big brother.
I had learnt years later, just after I graduated, through a common friend that Jenny liked me too but was too shy to ask me out! It was right there and then that I realized that if I do not overcome this incapacitating shyness and destructive social anxiety I will be doomed to a life of missed opportunities.
If you suffer from shyness, social anxiety, or any incapacitating phobias, I urge you to take control of your life.
Do not let the years slip by.
There is a whole world out there waiting for you.
It can be done, and I say so because I know that if I can overcome my shyness, I am sure anyone can.
While there are many paths to overcoming social anxiety and shyness, the essential first step is to remove any toxic influences you have in your life.
You should immediately exclude anyone who belittles you or puts you down.
Because in order to succeed, you have to create an environment conducive to your plans in overcoming your shyness.
Good luck on this journey of self-discovery, and believe me, at the end, when you can be out in a crowd and no longer be that sweaty, shy, anxious person it will all be worthwhile.
