How shy or outgoing are you?

Oh, I feel your pain! I am such an incredibly shy person. The only thing that's really been helping me is work. I'm a waitress, so small talk comes with the territory. I feel like that has been gradually raising my level of confidence with others.

Well i guess i am kinda shy or more like i have social anxiety,i avoid social gatherings,being around a bunch of people or being the center of attention. I guess a way to overcome this might be to focus elsewhere. Like on imagining what it will be like to really enjoy the social event, on how it will feel to be full of energy, or to be having a great conversation with someone.

I talk to anybody. It freaks some people out when we're in an elevator and I'll chit chat. Some people ignore me, but, surprisingly, people talk back. I figure that I've got nothing to lose, so, I might as well strike up a conversation.

I too am a very shy person, I always have been . Since I have become an adoult it is not as bad but .I just can't walk up to a stranger and start a conversation but I am better about it . My boyfriend is just the opposite ,he is very outgoing and talk to anyone about anythng al day ...Sometimes I just look and him and I say how do you do that ...he always laughs at me ....

I think, I would say I am mixture of both. i m nto extra ordinary bold. and not too shy.. well somes times I am shy.

I also have been shy all my life. It most effected me I think as a child. I would have given anything to have a date in high school but could never ever get up enough nerve to ask a girl out. In fact it was so bad I could not see how any girl would want to be seen out with me. The strange part about that is I have been married most of my life. After the Navy I fell in love and married my first wife at 23. We were togeather 37 years before she found someone else more her style....or so she thought. I am married again. Shyness has made me a loner most of my life. Never any male friends because I don't know how to be a friend I guess. That goes hand in hand with my marrage problems I guess. As I have gotten older it is not so much of a problem but still it directs what I am willing to do. I am not even now a party guy. Now I have an additional handicap...and yes I consider shyness a handycap...I have lost most of my hearing. Now if you don't think that is important for socalization.....think again. However I do know this. Most....if not all....shy people are truly loveing people. They want so much to fit in but just can't get past that need for approval before they act. I am sure we seem to be aloof and uncareing but nothing could be farther from the truth. Thank you for asking this question. I will read the answers with much interest.

When i was younger I was not really shy but quiet. I still am in a way it depends on how i feel at the time on how outgoing I might be. I am not a shy person but if i am not in the mood to talk then i wont.

Like you, I was very shy and timid when I was young. My stage fright was horrible when I was in school. How I hated it when everyone was asked to read in front of the class because I would be so nervous my whole body shook, and I just could not read properly, sometimes I just become speechless. Later in life though, after working for sometime, I seem to have overcome shyness and have gained more self confidence. You are still young, so I'm sure as time goes by and as you mature, you will also forget about being shy if you try to socialize more. Just forget yourself, be a good listener, and just be candid and sincere when you talk to people.

Well my kinda topic :) I'm very outgoin; a ture extrovert...lol.. I don't have a problem with talking to anyone. I'm a true talker to the heart...I love laughing and making people laugh. I believe since birth, I was a born people person...I enjoy good company no matter if I'm work or home...or out and about...

(I really love your discussions shywolf. I hope you continue to make interesting discussions such as this.) Anyway, to answer your question, yes. I used to be painfully shy. Especially if I was in an unknown crowd. You'd rarely hear me talk. If I did talk, it would be so soft that you'd have to struggle to even hear what I was saying. Fortunately, when I started working as a trainer, I got out of being shy really fast (although there are still times when I stay silent). With my work, I was technically forced to mingle with people since I had to be pretty "hands-on" with my trainees. Plus aside from this, I was sent to different places to promote our company so I had to get used to speaking in front of large crowds. This, I can say, has truly helped me in overcoming my shyness. Funny thing is, I had trainees who really lacked confidence. They would even tell me that they wanted to quit but then I would tell them that I was exactly like them before but because I practiced and tried, I succeeded. Happy to say that they were able to go on and succeed as well. So I guess I can gauge just how "unshy" I am through them. =) I hope that you can overcome your shyness as well. It's never too late you know. =)

I am pretty much outgoing. The shyness that I do have is pure fear of being rejected. The easy part is going up to someone you don't know. The one to be afraid of, is the person you slightly know and being turned away, looking stupid or such. Give me a stranger any day!

When I was growing up I was incredibly shy. I wouldn't volunteer answers in class, and in college I opted for a lesser grade so I didn't have to give a speech in front of my classmates. But over the last few years I have discovered I don't care what any one else thinks. I'm weird, I'm loud, I can be obnoxious. I just don't care. I try to have respect for people, but who cares if they think I'm ugly or loud or weird or whatever. I was once told being shy was actually having an incredible ego because shy people think everyone is looking at them and noticing them. The person who told me that was obviously not shy. Shy people don't think everyone is looking at them, they are AFRAID they are!

I am really shy until I get to know people and then I'm outgoing. People always think that I'm snotty or self-centered if they don't know me but really it's hard for me to start up a conversation with people I don't know. I've become friends with many people at the gym I belong to but they almost always approach me first. Once I get to know them though, I go out of my way to be a great friend. I always go up to my friends if I see them and talk to them, ask them how they are doing. I'll invite people over, start up any kind of conversation if someone starts one. Those are the ways I'm outgoing.

I am extremely outgoing. I have no problem making friends cause i'll just go up to anyone anywhere and just start talking to them. i used to be really shy though until about grade 8 and that's when i came out of my shell and then i went wild.

Well Shywood believe it or not but I am very shy myself, lol. I have to get to know People first. On here I am not to bad, lol. But when it comes to real People, I will not make the first move, I am just not like that. I had to in my last Job though, so I guess that did help to bring me out a bit more of myself. I had to deal with Customers and my Staff, there was no time for shyness.

I have always had a low self-image and have never felt really good about the way that I look. But, instead of being shy and trying to fade into the background, I have always been very funny and tried to make others around me laugh. I guess I feel that if I can make people laugh then I'm "okay". Also sometimes I've been known to do really crazy things, intentionally looking dumb, so that if I actually do something dumb, others around me will think that I'm just being silly. I believe that we all feel inadequate in some areas of our lives, we just express it differently. For you it's being shy and for me it's being outgoing. I think the important thing is that we realize that at the core we are all basically the same.

I'm not really that shy. I think it depends on the people I'm around. If I'm with really close friends, I'm not really shy. But if I'm around people I don't know, then sometimes I can be shy. But not really extreme shyness. My best friend, she's really shy. If she doesn't know someone, she wont even speak lol. She'll just keep her head down and pretend she's invisible. I think I'm pretty much an outgoing person. I like to socialize with certain people, and I like to be at the center sometimes, but not always.

I'm generally pretty shy. It's a rare occasion that I'm willing to be around a group of strangers. A few years ago I even used to get panicky when I was around people. It has subsided though, and I'm just simply a bit on the shy side now. I spend most of my time trying hard to not be shy. I can't stand it. I want to be forward and outgoing. So when I go out in public, I try to be more outgoing towards people. It also helps that my daughter is a social butterfly and even at 2 she'll talk to anyone that we pass by. She gets irritated if they don't say "Hi" to her when she says it to them. I suppose she could also be a good way to meet people, since she's so insistant on talking to them.

I am usually kinda of shy at first but then after I get to know someone, I open up easily anc talk and chat a lot. I used to not be this shy but as I grew into adulthood,and was hurt by some people I thought were friends,I tended to be more to myself, but I am getting more outgoing- as a matter of fact, some do call me outgoing! LOL

I think I'm a very outgoing person. I can go up to just about anyone and start up a conversation. It doesn't matter the gender, race, anything. Rich or poor, it doesn't matter their job. I also have no issue speaking in front of a huge crowd, I rarely get nervous about things such as that. However, if theres a certain dude I like.. I can be hardcore shy at first. That is, until it's out in the open that I like him. Then it's back to being outgoing. I like it, I don't like being shy.