Hello All!

I am always interested in doing advocacy/volunteer work.  The problem is that I'm fairly shy.  I make plans to go to a meeting or work with an organization and then the day of or night before I get a sense of dread and anxiety.  Sometimes I push through it and sometimes I don't.  I guess this is my question:

How do I make the world a better place while being shy? 

Are there things I can do from home?  Certain groups or types of work you would recommend?  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.  I don't want the shyness to turn into a life of self focus.  I feel like I'm not contributing and I would like to change this.

Thanks!

Views: 110

Replies to This Discussion

Amnesty International's website has quite a lot of online actions one can take. Many, many non-profit organizations will include online actions one can take in emails; it's really about what kind of work you're interested in supporting.

While I'm not shy, I'm physically limited and often unable to physically participate with many organizations, so I can relate to wanting to find ways to contribute from home! If your shyness doesn't extend to phone calls (I hate making phone calls personally!), then there's even more you can do from home.

Thank you for the response.  Yes, I understand how you feel. I have chronic illness that keeps me home a lot. Honestly, I was never shy until I became chronically ill.  I think I started getting anxious about being sick somewhere and stuck.  I started doing some research, so I thought I would share:

 http://helpfromhome.org/

http://www.projectlinus.org/

And this article: http://www.themorningnews.org/article/virtue-volunteering-from-home

DEar LC, Interesting discussion opener! Can you share anything about yourself with us?

For me, I'd say keeping up one's own faith, meditation, spiritual life is vital. Shy with depth is very doable, shy and shallow can be a disaster. Pick an area or two of interest and contemplate, empathize with those in need, pray or whatever you do. Go for walks in nature too. It is a great reminder for shy persons that the world is not just a human one. Next I would read up and watch documentaries on your topics of interest, so that you can contribute in conversations when they come up. But also being a good listener in group discussions is very very important, and quite possible for the shy. And also also! Do remember, there are people even MORE shy than you! Begin!

Thank you!  Those are some wonderful suggestions :-)

Rebecca Lynn Townsend said:

DEar LC, Interesting discussion opener! Can you share anything about yourself with us?

For me, I'd say keeping up one's own faith, meditation, spiritual life is vital. Shy with depth is very doable, shy and shallow can be a disaster. Pick an area or two of interest and contemplate, empathize with those in need, pray or whatever you do. Go for walks in nature too. It is a great reminder for shy persons that the world is not just a human one. Next I would read up and watch documentaries on your topics of interest, so that you can contribute in conversations when they come up. But also being a good listener in group discussions is very very important, and quite possible for the shy. And also also! Do remember, there are people even MORE shy than you! Begin!

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