A method borrowed from phobia treatment, adapted by Todd V for approach anxiety: get used to the feared thing in progressively larger doses. Build a personal ladder of steps — e.g. eye contact → ask directions → ask directions and exchange names → give a compliment → compliment plus conversation plus phone-number ask — and work through it in order.
Critically, start the ladder at step one even if the fear only shows up later (say, at step four) — by the time you reach that step, the earlier ones have already been normalized, so it lands as a small increment rather than a big jump.
The opposite tactic: skip the ladder and go straight for the big scary approach. Trades the slower, safer buildup for a potentially faster mentality shift — a single good result can produce a bigger "Epiphany" than the gradual route. Best attempted with a coach present or when you already have strong confidence/self-esteem; it suits fewer people than the gradual method.
This method (or its Band-Aid alternative) is short/medium-term scaffolding — see Approach Anxiety as a Normal Biological Response for the actual long-term fix (accumulating positive references).
Из тем: Inner Game: Confidence, Discipline & Approach Anxiety