Being embarrassed is an inevitable part of the human experience, but it’s time to discredit the belief that embarrassment is completely out of our control. While it would be impossible to eliminate embarrassment entirely, there are certainly ways around it, as embarrassment tends to stem from one area: the fear of being perceived.
The Fear of Being Perceived
People tend to get embarrassed as a result of anticipation of a negative perception by surrounding onlookers. Especially when surrounded by strangers, most people want to make the best possible first impression, and in turn, are very sensitive to any action that might mar the persona they are trying to create in a given social setting. Essentially, we become embarrassed when our social well-being is impaired.
At times, this is valid, as acting poorly or doing something wrong should be met with embarrassment since such a feeling will often prevent someone from acting that way again. However, there are certain situations in which we don’t need to be embarrassed, because, in the end, strangers’ perceptions of us don’t matter as much as we give them the credit to.
How To Tune Out Embarrassment (for the most part)
Quelling embarrassment begins with improving self-confidence. When you’re confident in yourself, embarrassing moments are easier to brush off. Spending a lot of time on social media tends to contribute to greater self-consciousness while trying to limit time spent on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc. will quite often boost confidence.
In my experience, social media perpetuates the idea that in-person interaction is far more formal and serious than it actually is. With social media, interacting with strangers is easy because you have time to create the perfect response. But in person, you have to think on your feet, which is an intimidating thing to consider. When you remove the lens of social media from in-person interactions, you begin to realize that it actually isn’t that serious, and that realization is accompanied by an abolishment of personality facades and the ability to act authentically without being worried about embarrassment.
When we present ourselves with a facade, it’s often out of fear of embarrassment. Acting ‘cool’ has been tried and true, proven to work. Our unique personalities, on the other hand, are more susceptible to harsh judgment in social situations, and thus, embarrassment. However, improving self-confidence will cause the fear of being perceived poorly to be outweighed by a desire to present a true version of oneself.
Why?
Why would we want to eliminate embarrassment? Aside from the fact that it’s very uncomfortable to feel embarrassed, being embarrassed prevents us from taking action in so many scenarios. Whether it’s talking to someone new, approaching someone you find attractive, or asking for advice, embarrassment stops us from doing the things we truly want to do. Tuning out embarrassment opens so many doors socially and will certainly allow us to find greater fulfillment in life.