How to Love Shyness

Shyness is a psychological inhibition that blocks reaching personal or professional goals. Sociologists report that almost half of the adults in the U.S. suffer from shyness. It is a trait shared by some of the world's most prominent people, including Abraham Lincoln, Orville Wright, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Lucille Ball. They overcame shyness to excel and you can love your own shyness by learning more about the condition and channeling it in a positive direction.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Consult the Shake Your Shyness website for a clearinghouse of information about shyness. Communicate with other shy people, read accounts written by shy people and determine strategies for shaking shyness.

2. Expand your library of self-help books named on "The Shyness Reading List," which includes such helpful titles "Conquering Shyness" by J.M. Cheek, "Feeling Good, The New Mood Therapy," by D.D. Burns and "Shyness: A Bold New Approach," by B.J.Carducci.

3. Give yourself time to convert shyness into an asset by following recommended tips, including compiling conversation topics before you leave home, letting people know you are shy in social settings and taking pride in effort, not outcome.

4. Focus on improving one social skill at a time, like smiling or being the first person to say hello.

5. Participate in research on shyness by taking a questionnaire designed by Dr. Bernardo J.Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, IN. The questionnaire is available on the Institute's website.

6. Turn shyness into "social fitness" by trying exercises under the supervision of a therapist as explained in the "The Social Fitness Training Manual: A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach to Treating Shyness and Social Anxiety Disorder," by Dr. Lynne Henderson, PhD.

Resources

• Encyclopedia of Mental Health (in press)
• Shake Our Shyness
• The Shyness Reading List
• Shyness Institute Research
• The Social Fitness Training Manual