I have been thinking a lot the past couple of days about something that was said in an exchange I had here . This is the comment:

If you are more different than you ought to be in any given situation, then you are not sufficiently developed in what it takes to be a success via getting along with others by making them as comfortable as possible.

This is a big problem for me. In most situations where I am in a group or talking to an individual with whom I do not ordinarily interact, I tend to focus on how awkward I feel or how different I am rather than attempt to do what I can to make the others comfortable; or, better yet I do everything humanly possible to avoid situations involving a lot of interpersonal interaction. I am not comfortable and make no effort to be, which in turn makes others uncomfortable and probably gives them a less favorable impression of me which will subsequently hinder my ability to be more successful.

I am giving myself a task this week: I am going to try to find at least one situation where I could practice being more accommodating and less internally focused and make note of the result.