it is not a good thing to be coerced, but to force oneself is part of learning:
"...[E]xperience; which, if taken as it comes, is called accident, if sought for, experiment." (Bacon)
i have tried many things in my time, not always unregrettably; but the things i found most value in, came as a result of my having overcome a general reluctance through this process.
as a child, i was timid & imaginative of fears, but also capable of bold leaps & fierce defiance once i threw off my inhibitions. now i think there is nothing to be gained by inhibition (though discretion is a separate virtue, & not easy for someone like me to discover). it is actually pretty useful not to feel the opinion of others, whether in praise or censure, for all journeys of innovation.
this is an advantage, looked at in the way of its outcomes. unfortunately the world wants to keep score, & rewards accordingly. gold, silver, bronze... it does not see the achievements of individuality per se, but only as they can be turned to profit.
_________________
"I have always found that Angels have the vanity
to speak of themselves as the only wise; this they
do with a confident insolence sprouting from systematic
reasoning." --William Blake