I worked on this hard in college. It was partially the "People age out of it..." that others mentioned... but there was one intentional step I did.
I said yes.
I made a decision in my sophmore year of college to say yes. Whenever someone invited me somewhere. Suggested an activity. Wanted to spend time with me in physical space (rather than video gamess) I said yes.
This ultimately helped me discover.. I was more extroverted than I thought. People liked me. My awkward humor was endearing... and a bunch of other things.
But really, I think it required me realizing _People wanted to spend time with me_. So much of the social awkwardness and introversion I experiences was really just my own fear and insecurities that "No one liked me". I wasn't attractive enough, funny enough, smart enough, thin enough, etc, etc. In the end... People liked me how I was.
I said yes.
I made a decision in my sophmore year of college to say yes. Whenever someone invited me somewhere. Suggested an activity. Wanted to spend time with me in physical space (rather than video gamess) I said yes.
This ultimately helped me discover.. I was more extroverted than I thought. People liked me. My awkward humor was endearing... and a bunch of other things.
But really, I think it required me realizing _People wanted to spend time with me_. So much of the social awkwardness and introversion I experiences was really just my own fear and insecurities that "No one liked me". I wasn't attractive enough, funny enough, smart enough, thin enough, etc, etc. In the end... People liked me how I was.