It is understandably common for people to seek to avoid at least some anxiety provoking situations. However, tendencies to avoidance can become entrenched over a period of time to become quite self-defeating. This is because the urge to avoid situations can be strengthened by the short-term relief that escape from such situations may bring. As a consequence, avoided situations can become even more anxiety-provoking. Avoidant patterns of behaviour can lead to greater imbalance and dissatisfaction in people's lives if such patterns or habits become entrenched as avoidant personality characteristics. Such avoidant characteristics include: avoiding work activities which have significant interpersonal contact, being unwilling to become involved with others unless certain of being liked, being restrained in intimate relationships, being preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations, being inhibited in new social situations because of feelings of inadequacy, viewing oneself as personally unappealing or inferior, and being unusually reluctant to take personal risks or engage in new activities which may prove embarrassing. Those with strong avoidant personality tendencies experience at least four of these characteristics.