Today I read an article by Loretta Breuning about why some people are shy and how to overcome shyness. In the article Loretta Breuning says that shy people often have negative expectations of social interactions that prevent them from speaking up. But she also gives hope that this is not unchangeable and that we humans can gain control over our brains. This is because negative expectations are neural connections that can be silenced by offsetting them with positive expectations. When cortisol flows, neural connections are built, but they are also built when dopamine flows. By creating positive expectations we strengthen the neural connections that underlie these positive expectations and silence negative ones. Of course, it is not realistic and wise to have only positive expectations of social interactions. Frustrations and failures are unavoidable, but we can approach social interactions more positively rather than negatively, if we, especially shy people, take responsibility for and control over our brains. It gives me as a shy person myself hope and helps me develop more positive outlook on life.