Shyness is a common term in popular psychology and is difficult to define scientifically. According to the American social psychologist Zimbardo, someone is shy if they believe themselves to be so. Depth psychology drew close attention to the phenomenon of shyness as early as 1904. A shyness syndrome with ten structural elements developed in 1995 takes into account the individual diversity of the psychological trait. At the centre of this study are questions as to the innerpsychic dynamics of shyness and its roots in human behaviour itself. A dual perspective on shyness emerges. On the one hand shyness stands for personal deficits and inhibitions in social living, on the other hand shyness can be a motivation to personality development and achievement of individual ideals in word and deed. This is illustrated in a number of examples from literature and from the biographies of well-known and less well-known people.