[sunny3]

I've had very similar thoughts and feelings - before wfh started, some people in my cube would always say good morning etc when they arrive, and I started panicking that I didn't say hi to others, or in a group meeting where I really didn't have anything to say and stayed silent and smiling.

Then I began to think how would I feel had I acted like X and X who initiated the interaction and participated in the conversation? My answer to that is, I would probably be clueless on how to carry on the conversation and feel awkward not knowing how to stop / concluding the small talk of the morning. That's when I realized I don't enjoy initiating such interactions. Later, I realized that the real reason is that I fear I'll be perceived as less cool or less cheerful than others, but is this an actual problem, though? I've concluded that it's not, for me - I'm in a team that thankfully doesn't push everyone to have the same temperament and I just need to socialize in a way that's comfortable to myself: I might not want to greet everyone everyday, but I could hold private conversations that's a little deeper than small talk which might make slightly stronger bounds.

BTW, Quiet is a great book that I highly recommend.