Believe me, I try to maximize the time I'm around people I know all the time. Feeling pathetic and awkward isn't exactly my cup of tea.
Strangely, this has still only built up confidence around people I know. So I feel even more confident around them(?). Still, I hope that eventually my subconscious would do as you say, and believe from the bottom of its annoying self, that I should be more confident of myself. The confidence I have is 'confident in being liked'. This is what matters most to me and I think it should matter most to almost everyone. Being confident that people will like you basically means you can really be YOURSELF. You say what you feel and you act how you want to.