Don’t go thinking that there is a spontaneous cocktail you can gobble down to cure your anxiety, insecurity and/or irrational feeling of inferiority. Because although there are many…ahem…”things” you can take or induce so that you don’t feel so self-conscious, there are more natural ways to go about things. I’m not talking about any ‘natural’ products on the market or anything like that. I’m taking about you being aware of yourself and your thoughts. I’m talking about you taking control of those things and realizing that it’s not all about you and it is all about you. You’ll understand in a bit.
I like to give some context as to where I get information or how I came to think the way I do. It helps people connect better and get a better understanding of how they can help themselves. It’s all about making you feel like you can be you without having to be so concerned with how people DO or DON’T think about you. Hear me out…I had just put my daughter down for a nap so I had some down time, a special something we all crave once in a while with not only how busy we can be with work, but how busy our personal lives become too. I yanked my phone out of my pocket and I tapped on the Reddit app and began scrolling through. A post caught my attention and I opened it right away simply based on the question it asked. It went something like this:
“What’s something you’ve changed your perspective on now that you’re older?” I scrolled and scrolled and took in a few things, but only a few out of many really stood out to me.
“I spent a lot of time when I was younger worrying about what other people thought of me, when actually, most people are just thinking about themselves and worrying about what other people think of them”
So isn’t this a wasteful way to think? YOU don’t care about what YOU think of ME because YOU’RE too worried about what I think of YOU. And if I’m having the same thought process as you are…then aren’t we truly just thinking about ourselves worrying about others and what they think of us? It’s maddening!
So I have a challenge for you today. No matter where you are, whether you’re working out, going for a walk or at a grocery store. It doesn’t matter. If you’re in a public setting, be yourself. Get out of your shell a bit. That’s all. Don’t worry about what others are going to think of you. They’re too self-conscious as it is to worry about how they think of you at all! Instead of asking you to come to a traffic light and look over to the person next to you, staring until they look your way and then you instantly smile…I rather just suggest you do something safer instead of getting shot. Get out of your comfort zone. Sing while food shopping, or go for a jog in a pink dress. Who cares?
I have to fight these same things as you do. Some have had it as bad as I have and very few have had worse. Dealing with social anxiety is no joke, but I’ve defeated it for the most part and I don’t let it rule my life anymore. Again…that’s another post entirely.
Anytime I head to the beach or go for a run in my neighborhood with my shirt off, I’m definitely self-conscious at times but I have to reel myself in and not waste my time caring about that. These random people I see on the street have the same insecurities, why not show them they can be free from their constrictive minds too?
All of this takes work, but it can be fun.
There are times I’m recording video for youtube wherever it is that I’am and I stop suddenly because someone is staring. I put the phone back to my side and question why I just reacted that way. I take up the challenge of continuing what I was doing. Why? because what is that person going to change about my life as I record? They’re just going to be curious. They’re going to go about their day wondering if they just saw a famous youtuber…which I’m not. But I won’t affect them in any sort of way. I would just be allowing them to affect ME, by not continuing my recording.
I think it’s so important to feel free in our lives to do what we enjoy. We hold ourselves back from simple escapes and pleasures because we let our MINDS hold us back. If I want to shave my head bald, I’m going to do it. The only people that are poking fun are those with a small mental capacity because they know nothing more than their bubble they’re living in. They don’t explore outside of their comfort zone and never have. I don’t let those things bother me anymore. If someone wants to act negatively towards me, they bring no positive value to my life and I should continue on without them. There are exceptions of course with friends and/or family that have fallen ill or have some sort of dementia. But we’re not talking about the exception to the rule.
Do yourself a favor and chip away at that wall. Your life will not feel so bound by insecurity. You’ll feel free. Stay active my friends.
Be Active Daily 