Face it, we’re all shy sometimes. It’s when this starts to become a habit that the problem sets in: we start living our lives with the intention of avoiding people and places where our shyness will show. Try some of these tips to overcome shyness and social anxiety.

1. Increase your confidence levels

There has to be something you’re good at, better than most people. Build on the confidence you have with this. And realize that if you can be confident in one situation, you are actually perfectly capable of transferring that feeling of confidence to other situations. You may not believe me in that, so try it in a situation where it doesn’t matter if it works or not. You will be pleasantly surprised by the result.

2. Don’t act so weird

You could be asking for it by acting strangely. Think about how geeks are portrayed in movies: they are always uncomfortable in situations involving other humans but are comfortable playing World of Warcraft and interacting with imaginary creatures, or people pretending to be imaginary creatures. Try to act more “normal,” wear clothes that don’t stand out and make you look like you just grabbed the first things you found in your wardrobe, whether they match or not.

3. Be brave from time to time

You already know the limits of your comfort zone. Push them: you created these limits so that you can overcome them. After all, they are just a figment of your overactive imagination anyway.

4. Stop thinking you’re second best

You may not be able to chase a ball around a field like some athletes (and many dogs!), but that doesn’t mean you’re automatically second best. We all have different abilities, which is good, otherwise society would be too one-sided. There will be something in which you excel. Find it, capitalize on it, spread that “wow” feeling to other areas of your life and see how big of a difference it makes.

5. Success breeds success

A cliche, for sure. But it is also a truism. With every little boost in confidence, you should become a little more courageous. Situations that you would have previously taken a hundred mile detour to avoid will not seem so problematic. Removing the edges of your shyness will have a disproportionate effect. And once you get below the 50% shy stage, you’ll find that your shyness really starts to go away.