{"id":9569,"date":"2020-12-30T10:21:22","date_gmt":"2020-12-30T09:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/?page_id=9569"},"modified":"2022-02-08T08:21:07","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T07:21:07","slug":"overcoming-shyness-tips-for-more-social-confidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/more-self-esteem\/building-self-esteem\/how-to-deal-with-low-self-esteem\/how-low-self-esteem-affects-your-life\/how-does-self-esteem-affect-communication-skills\/overcoming-shyness-tips-for-more-social-confidence\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Stop Being Shy – Tips for More Social Confidence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I know how painful and limiting being shy can be because I was extremely shy for many years until I was in my late twenties and early thirties. According to Psychcentral<\/a> the number of adults that believe they are suffering from shyness is between 40-60%. We need to look at this a little closer to see how accurate this is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that it is possible to learn how to stop being shy and have more confidence in social situations. I know this because I have done it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being shy is quite common. Zimbardo, in his book Shyness<\/em> (1977), claimed that 10% of those in his study claimed to have never felt shy. Learning how to stop being shy involves building social self-confidence in situations like job interviews, meeting strangers or interacting with the opposite sex.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is shyness threatening to destroy your social life? Want to learn how to stop being shy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’d like to try the best audio hypnosis downloads<\/em> that will help you build your confidence and self esteem check them out here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is being shy a problem for so many people?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Learn to speak confidently<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

According to this article<\/a>, published in Personality and Individual Differences<\/em> in 2017, it is possible for some people to be both shy and sociable, (meaning that they still want and need to socialise with others). This creates a conflict between the desire to interact with others and the pain of being shy stopping them from doing so. Someone in this position will need to find a way to overcome their shyness or face a lifetime of stress, anxiety and probably many missed social opportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others who suffer from shyness, but who are not so inclined to be sociable, will most likely give in to the fear and avoid social contact as much as possible. This can lead to all sorts of problems because social interaction and communication are so important, not only in daily life but also at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The serious effects of being shy include depression and loneliness (Dill and Anderson, 1999<\/a>). It is also likely that unless one overcomes shyness, it will have a negative effect on relationships and career. Shyness may cause you to communicate less confidently and you may tend to stay quiet when you should speak up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At work, the importance of being shy largely depends on the type of job a person does. I used to be an electronics engineer many years ago and often found myself working alone for days. I felt that I was losing my ability to communicate confidently and noticed my shyness becoming worse. Later, I moved towards sales and eventually teaching, two jobs that require social confidence and the ability to communicate clearly. How important is confident speaking to you in your job?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who are shy, according to Henderson and Zimbardo<\/a> (2001), also experience negative thinking and often blame themselves for their social failure. This could damage self esteem<\/a> which feeds off regret and self-blame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news about overcoming shyness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Learning how to stop being shy is possible, and you can make it less and less of an obstacle in your path. According to this article<\/a> by Henderson and Zimbardo (2001), overcoming shyness is a matter of improving social fitness<\/em>. This is a term they have created to describe how confident and skilled one is in social interactions. By thinking about shyness in terms of social fitness they believe that it can be treated by developing and practising social skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the problems I faced as a result of being shy was blushing. I had a huge lack of confidence and this prevented me from socialising when I was younger. My shyness was a huge problem at school and college. Then I read one very important book and, putting the ideas in it to work, I gradually began to regain new confidence<\/a> in social situations. The book I read, I cannot remember the title now, helped me take control of my reactions to social stress. This included a lot of stress I faced in my university and college studies. Is this a problem you face? If so, this will help you – boost your confidence in class<\/a><\/strong> – click this link for some of the tips I used to help overcome my own shyness issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blushing can be a very painful experience that is based on confidence issues that make shyness worse. After experiencing many painful years of this, I wrote about how you can reduce blushing<\/a><\/strong> which contains much of what I have learnt from the amazing relaxation techniques I used. Imagine being more relaxed and confident<\/a> and not worrying about blushing…or being shy! What would that be worth to you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Imagine how your life will change when you are no longer shy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What would a life without shyness look like for you? Here are some of the things you will be able to do after eliminating your shyness:<\/p>\n\n\n\n