This quote hits the nail on the head. Al Pacino had stardom thrust him out of shyness. I still find it funny that shy people get into acting or are pushed into acting as a way to “come out of their shell.” I know it well, as I was pushed into acting as a young child. It allowed me to step outside of myself and be someone else, but it didn’t help with the shyness. Once the play was over, I still had to be me and I was shy.
I was am still shy. When I was younger, shyness could rule my life. Difficulty speaking in front of a class? Check. Hard time meeting new people? Check. Hid? Check. Used words and journals and stories to express myself? Check. I’m sure non-shy people expressed themselves through the written word as well. But for me, it was a way to break out of the shell—-that is, right up until the moment someone asked me to read it out loud.
It wasn’t until I was forced to give presentations at work and lead meetings that I found myself breaking that shell. Becoming a yoga teacher finished the job. You really put yourself out there when teaching yoga and it’s the real me that comes out, that’s the only way I know how to do it.
I’m still shy–back in 2012 I deleted the first blog I created because I was afraid someone would read it—I’ve just learned how to set aside the shyness in order to participate, in order to lead and in order to enjoy. Of course, some days I still lose the battle and I let the shyness overwhelm me, Luckily, those days are fewer now than in the past.
I think shyness was inherent in our generation. Our children seem to have a much more confident approach to life. I have gotten better at masking my lack of self-confidence/shyness but it still lurks in the shadows waiting to embarrass me with a badly timed blush! ~ Leanne
Or worse….the awkward, half-finished sentence that starts at a normal volume and then slowly goes lower so no one can tell whether I just stopped talking or just stopped making sound. Awkward! My son professes to shyness and I see that when he needs to introduce himself to people he doesn’t know, but at the same time, when he was in his teens, I’ve seen him jump out of the car and into a group of like-minded metal heads without a backwards glance. He didn’t know anyone there, he just knew that his favorite band was playing.
I am definitely shy, but I put have learned to put on a good front. It is interesting that so many people can be introverts and put themselves out there in an acting role or public speaker. I find I can be bolder on paper than in person, and love to hang out with outgoing people so I can watch how it’s done.
Pen and Paper is definitely where I feel more comfortable. But don’t we all seem to have that one friend that is outgoing? The one who asks all the questions you’re afraid to ask, the one that prods you out of the house? I have one and I love her for doing it.
What you’ve written is so true for me as well. I always practiced the art of being inconspicuous and really mastered it by high school. But I studied education in college and realized that being a teacher meant I would need to put myself out there. It is still much easier for me to do this in a professional capacity than in personal social situations. I’ve finally realized in midlife that it was all good. My way of being present is just as valid as anyone else’s.
Love that…”the art of being inconspicuous”…I agree that it’s easier now. For me, some of it is just the requirement of doing it and some of it just being more ok in my skin now than I ever was when I was younger.
Hi Jennifer,
I know Molly, Elena, and Plagued Parent. Did you find me at Elena’s FB group?
1. Thank you for coming to my site on Sunday and offering your feedback about the Email apps.
2. In response to your post, I am a huge Al Pacino fan and have one of his movies. I can’t remember the title right now but it was with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron. Are you familiar with it? Scary movie. My ex mother in law dated him and people say my husband looks like him.
3. I love yoga and look forward to resuming it one day.
4. I am also a teacher. Shy can’t be in our vocabulary!
Thanks again for Sunday’s visit. Nice to meet you.
Janice
Hi Janice, yes I found you through Elena’s FB group. If you haven’t tried the unroll.me app yet, you should, very easy to set up. I think the movie you’re referring to is Devil’s Advocate—Al Pacino is chilling as Satan. Shy can’t be in the vocabulary as you teach, but it’s still there for me….it comes out later. Nice meeting you as well.
About time we shied away from being shy!
Well said! Thanks for stopping by.