Skills Project--Shyness
INTRODUCTION:
All my life I have been shy. Also, all my life I've been hearing people
say, "She will grow out of it." I'm 20 years old and the shyness is still here. As a kid
you can get by being shy but as an adult, shyness can hold you back in many aspects of
your life.
DESCRIBING PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR:
After two weeks of recording my behaviors I've come to realize in what
situations my shyness comes into play most often. There are very few situations that I
feel comfortable with myself, allowing me to speak freely. The only people that I ever
feel at ease with are my own family and friends. Even my own family and friends can
turn me silent in some situations.
Meeting new people is a very hard task for me. Sometimes it feels almost
impossible. My biggest fear of meeting new people is, not knowing what to say. In most
cases I would rather avoid a situation than have to deal with the feeling of not knowing
what to say. 2/6-2/9 I tried to avoid any situation that I thought I could feel awkward
in. Avoidance can be either physical (steering clear of a friend after having an
argument, or in my case, steering clear of a friend to avoid the chance of any awkward
situation) or conversational (changing the topic, joking, or denying that a problem
exists). (Ch.11-Managing Conflict, p.304) Most shy people would rather avoid the short
term problem of meeting new people and asking for dates, even when the long term goal
of intimate relationships are enticing.
On 1/18 I had a job interview at a new pizza restaurant. My parent's had
been hounding me for months to find a job. The new pizza restaurant that was opening,
the owner happened to be one of my dad's co-workers, so I decided that even though I
hated interviews I would give this...
Please login to view the full essay...