Life can be so awkward. Here's how to embrace the embarrassing

Psychologist Ty Tashiro opens the episode with a vivid, painful memory from seventh grade. He and his friends, self-described nerds, tried to revive recess by staging elaborate wrestling reenactments on the schoolyard. One day, while being swung around by a friend playing Hulk Hogan, Tashiro was hurled headfirst into a steel fence post. When he came to, a crowd of kids had gathered to watch the spectacle. Lying on the ground, he had a single thought: Why am I like this? Why am I so socially awkward?

That question became the foundation of his career. Tashiro argues that awkwardness is not simply a collection of embarrassing moments. It is a distinct way of processing the world, one that comes with real costs but also surprising strengths.

What makes someone "awkward"

Tashiro defines awkward people by three core characteristics. First, they have social skill deficits — they struggle to know what is expected in a given situation and have trouble executing the right response. Second, they have communication difficulties, both in understanding what others are trying to convey and in expressing their own intentions clearly. Third, they develop obsessive interests. “People who are awkward really love what they love,” Tashiro says, but they can become so hyper-focused that they lose track of the broader social narrative.