I used to be extremely shy. In some situations, I may still be. In class, I get ridiculously nervous just to say one sentence, and I usually end up not saying it. My heart will pound really hard to the point I think the people around me can hear it, only for me to say nothing because someone else said it or I just was too scared. There are also enough settings I feel comfortable in talking to people now that I am not terribly concerned about mingling with those I don't immediately connect with. I did have a blast on Sunday tabling for Aikido... one of the other people tabling is very outgoing and knows marketing skills, so I saw him as a role-model, followed his lead, and felt great and much less socially inhibited than usual. I felt pretty comfortable loudly saying "hey" to everyone who walked by who I thought might be interested... That was so invigorating that when I walked back to my dorm, I greeted the guard without thinking twice (I always think twice about it unless I'm already familiar with that guard), and then I went to buy some food and felt totally connected with the cashier for those few seconds.... I know that sounds completely trivial, but it was pretty awesome to me.
Anyway... the social courage I really need to work on is on a more intimate level. How do I deal with people who I constantly disagree with? How do I deal with this person I have felt more intimate with than anyone who I subsequently became afraid of because she stopped communicating with me? I find that talking to a lot of people online and overcoming my fears of people I used to avoid even encountering is helpful... I wonder what else I could do.