Yeah I hear what ur saying Rockerchick!
There are so many of us with this problem. We all know what we need to do to make it better yet all we do is complain about it.
I liked your backbreaking labour analogy. I also kinda think of the whole thing this way: Its like we all have an addiction of some sort - like alcoholics do. The alcoholic knows he has a drinking problem. He sees so many people around him that are living happily because they don't have this problem. And he knows that if he just stops drinking, he could be just like all these other people. It sounds SO EASY!!! but in reality it can seem like the hardest thing in the world to do because there is something inside of you that does not want to let you change.
You know what really pisses me off. I am like 99% sure that over the next week if I were to approach 10 different girls at my school and start talking to them, I would be able to get a phone number and/or date from AT LEAST one of them. I really believe this! So why don't I do it? - Because I make excuses not to, so I don't have to feel nervous about it.
That's all it is. It's about us not wanting to feel nervous or out of our comfort zone. And those feelings overpower our desire to socialize and meet new people.
(btw, I think we kinda hijacked this thread and changed the topic. lol sorry OP)