OMG how embarrassing! How to stop feeling so awkward

Life Kit

NPR

Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Kids & Family, Education, Business

4.3 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Cringing at the time you gave a speech with spinach in your teeth, or accidentally liked an ex's picture on social media? Still reliving that incident in the fourth grade when you called your teacher "mommy"? Awkward moments have a tendency to haunt us – even ones from decades ago. This episode, Life Kit reporter Andee Tagle breaks down why we get so embarrassed about the things we do and how we can experience those feelings a little less.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from NPR sponsor, How to Be a Better Human, a podcast from Ted.
0:05.0	Even if you're a self-help skeptic, you'll find inspiration to improve your life from fascinating
0:10.2	in-depth conversations with TED speakers. Find how to be a better human wherever you listen.
0:16.8	You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.
0:21.7	Hey, everybody. it's Mariel.
0:24.1	I think we all have memories that make us cringe, right?
0:28.4	Something we did that was just really embarrassing or uncomfortable.
0:32.4	They tend to play on repeat for me when I'm trying to sleep.
0:35.7	But enough about me, let's talk about this other guy's awkward memories.
0:42.2	I had gotten my head before middle school that the key to my social success was to be professional
0:48.7	and mature.
0:49.9	This is tie to Shiro, a psychologist and a social scientist.
0:53.5	He says as a kid, he was inspired by the character Alex P. Keaton on the 80s sitcom Family Ties.
1:00.6	He was kind of this old soul who carried around a briefcase and more press khakis and starch shirts.
1:08.4	And so that's, that was exactly what my wardrobe look like. Good idea, in theory.
1:14.8	But I kind of look like a 40-year-old accountant to age 12. So Ty remembers pulling up in the car with
1:20.7	his mom on the first day of school. And as we were driving around the roundabout, I just saw, like, the kids were like heavy metal was very popular at the time.
1:33.3	So we were in like leather pants and like these cut up halter tops and has the wild hair.
1:41.1	And I'm like, I have no idea what's going on or how I navigate any of this.
1:48.5	Ty says this is one of many times he's felt awkward in his life.
1:52.1	One of many times he's struggled to maneuver through the intricacies of social interactions.
1:57.2	By the way, he's also written a book on this topic.
	...

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