Shyness and social anxiety can ruin a person's self esteem and social freedom.

Being shy can ruin our chances of making new friends, being comfortable at social events, and even getting a raise or promotion. When we're shy in the workplace, it's easy to get passed up for more outgoing personalities.
It's normal to be shy sometimes. It's only a problem when it starts to interfere with life and alters the choices we make.

Do you have a hard time meeting new people? Do you find yourself declining invitations? You could very well be shy. Shyness is when you spend too much time in your head, judging yourself based on other people's standards and opinions. You are constantly trying to figure out how you should be acting and behaving in various situations.
you can use the following 5 simple strategies to learn how to overcome shyness and become more confident.

Accept yourself

If you're always trying to fit in, you are doing nothing more than wearing yourself out. You need to understand that not everyone will like you, and this is okay. It is normal. Everyone experiences times of insecurity and self-consciousness. It is not just you. If you accept yourself and your qualities, things will be much easier for you.

Becoming more accepting of yourself and loving yourself for the fine person that you really are can boost your confidences. Acceptance is the ability to unconditionally value all parts of who you are. That means you acknowledge all of yourself--the good and the things that need improvement. For most of us, self-acceptance can be hard. We tend to be critical of ourselves, but there are a number of ways to learn to accept yourself and your life.

2) Become self-aware

If you want to overcome shyness and social anxiety, you need to understand that people are not looking at you. Most of them are far too busy looking at themselves. When you around people, seek within yourself. Observe your thoughts. By simply admitting your shyness, you can reduce your anxiety, which in turn will help you relax. Once you become self-aware, you will be on your way to improvement.

Learn to appreciate yourself and the world around you, including those "panicky" thoughts and feelings, and just notice them without judgment.

When you are fully present in the moment, you will realize that social interactions are not something you need to avoid. You will perform better because you are actually paying attention to the conversation and the cues in your environment. With practice, you can continually incorporate and improve upon your social skills

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3) Embrace your strengths

Avoid all self-slander and demotivating self talk. Use constructive criticism instead when a self analysis is necessary. Inorder to gain confidence and self-esteem, find something you enjoy and know you are good at. Focusing on doing this very thing, whatever it is, could help you overcome your shyness.

Part of overcoming shyness is about developing confidence in several areas of your life and not letting anxiety, fear of failure, fear of rejection, or fear of humiliation get in your way.

Meet everyone with smile. Smiles not only make others happy, but they also make the smiler happy too. When we smile it tells others we're friendly and open to being approached. Smile at a stranger every time you go out to spread the good vibe to yourself and others.

4) Take care of yourself

Whenwe don't love ourselves, how can we believe that anyone else will? Reflect on your successes, and focus on your good attributes. Take care of your health by eating well and sleeping well. All of these little things show self care and appreciation.

Taking care of yourself can totally boost your confidence. Even just small things, like showering, flossing your teeth and keeping your nails trimmed, can make a big difference in how you feel about yourself. When you add dressing well in addition to good hygiene, you will be surprised by how much better you feel about yourself. With this increased confidence, you will no longer fear meeting new people and striking up conversations.

5) Practice talking

Feeling anxious is not the problem; avoiding social interactions is the problem. Eliminate avoidance and you will overcome your anxiety.

This one is very important. If you don't start talking to people, you will never stop being shy and awkward. Try to be a bit more talkative and practice talking more openly with friends, family and even complete strangers. Approach others and strike up a conversation. Find more outgoing friends. You can find them at social events or on recreational sports teams. Watch what they do, and you might learn something.

By doing these self confidence tips everyday, you can slowly overcome shyness and become more confident, until you can publicly display who you are - without fear of being judged. Thanks for reading the article. Do share it with your friends and don't forget to click on that yellow follow icon on top

This means participating in small talk in the checkout line and talking to strangers at bars, stores, sporting events, and the gym. Additionally, approach the individuals to whom you are attracted romantically. Talk to them. Ask them to dance. Ask them out on dates.

Life is short. Who cares if you get rejected? There are seven billion people on this planet. You're not expected to like or be liked by all of them. Take some chances and put yourself out there to meet new people.