Almost every human being knows what it’s like to feel shy. That’s right: about 90% of those surveyed say that they have felt shy in some situation in their life, even if they don’t identify as being shy. So what does that feel like? Although shy people are thought to be silent and stoic, the…
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Flipping the Script
Shyness is a unique cluster of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that result in a wide variety of internal and external experiences. Stammering, feeling uncomfortable, blushing, judging oneself, opting out of social situations even before they begin. Although shyness may look differently on the surface, there’s one thread running through them: Shy people think of shyness…
My Story, Part II
Picking up where I left off — Not surprisingly, my shyness and insecurity continued on into adolescence, when every teen’s social life becomes vastly more complicated. But I didn’t withdraw and clam up, or shrink into my fears. Instead, I acted out to cover up my shyness. I pretended I knew what I was doing,…
My Story, Part I
I never thought of myself as shy. But once I understood shyness, as an adult, I instantly recognized it as something I’d coped with for years. In fact, I realized that shyness had shaped many of my thoughts, feelings, and actions since I was a kid. Many shy adults can pinpoint the exact moment when…
Why Are You Shy?
Years ago, when I was working on my second shyness book with Bernardo Carducci, I used to organize shyness discussion groups. That usually provoked a laugh from non-shy people, since they imagined a bunch of sullen, withdrawn people sitting in silence, waiting for the hour to be over. The discussion groups were the exact opposite….
Why Celebrate Shyness?
I thought long and hard about what I’d call this website. In the end, Celebrate Shyness is the title that spoke to me. Most shy people think of their shyness as a negative trait. Many say that they don’t want to be shy, or that it prevents them from living the life that they want….
Hello Out There
Hi everyone — Thank you for coming to Celebrate Shyness. I hope you stay awhile, learn something, and share your thoughts on shyness. This is my first blog post on shyness, so I’m just going to dive in and explain why I launched this site. I am a writer who has collaborated with Bernardo Carducci,…