How did you overcome it (for the sake of the shy people here)?
I had to think about that a bit, because I don't think I ever
consciously did anything to overcome it, it just sort of happened. But the conclusion of my rather undeveloped thoughts about this is that the main way in which I overcame it (without realising at the time that this is what I was doing), in terms of Jungian personality theory, was by developing my extraverted sensing function to the point that I'm pretty good with it.
Although I couldn't say if there's any empirical truth to this, I would hazard a guess that the MBTI grouping least prone shyness is SP, which of course has extroverted sensing as the preferred information gathering function. in Buddhism, great importance is attached to the concept of acting "skillfully". Very simply put, what this means is focussing entirely on the present moment of the act that you are carrying out. I've always felt that SPs are the most natural at doing this.
So as a practical point of advice, people could learn a little about some of these ideas in Eastern Philosophy, learn how to put the philosophy into practice by meditating. I think shyness is related anxiety, and by focussing your mind in the present moment, meditation relieves this. I am also a massive fan of yoga, which really helps connect mind and body (which certain types of meditation do also), and also martial arts, which are fun, get you fit, and can also give you physical confidence if that is something you are lacking.
Quickest starting point for an introduction to
some of these themes: 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', by Robert Pirsig.
This is all a bit roundabout and indirect, plus which I am sure there are plenty of shy SPs out there. Well, one key point is that everything requires "skillfulness", including social interactions. Another is that even if there is no
direct causal relationship, improving your confidence in one aspect of life will often have positive knock on effects on others.
Aside from all this though, I do believe that there is a natural tendency for people to overcome shyness as they get older regardless of where they stand with extroverted sensing. It's a byproduct of accumulating life experience. I've been quite lucky, as an EP, in that I've probably done this at a faster pace than most. But everyone is accumulating experience all the time.