Start Saying Yes.

I’m going to start making a conscious effort to do stuff. Bear with me, it’s not as broad and vague as it sounds. It’s best to give a little bit of background. When I was younger I would talk to anybody and would get involved with anything and everything that there was going. But for a reason I’m not too sure of, that began to change. Now I’m at a stage in life where the idea of talking to new people or doing something different terrifies me to whole new level and I’ll avoid it where possible. Until now at least.

                Circumstances have recently changed for me, making it apparent that I need to start becoming a heck of a lot more social. So I need to get over this irrational fear that I have created when being faced with something new. At first, even the thought of changing my ways terrified me. But then I started to think about the small things I’ve done lately that perhaps I wouldn’t have done before, by just saying yes. For example, I went for a night out with some guys from work that I don’t know too well, in a different town, by myself. And you know what, I had a blast! I really enjoyed myself, and even though before setting off I was thinking to myself ‘I really don’t want to do this, I should stay home. I’ll say I’m sick. I want to be at home on my own’, pushing myself through that and actually going out was the best thing I could have done. Giving in to this anxiety was really depriving me of all the memories and experiences I should have as a teen.

                I don’t want to give in to something my mind has set its self to do. I want to go out, I want to have friends and I want to progress within my work too. Not doing these things because of some ‘fear’ that has grown and taken over has really started to piss me off. Yes, sometime I will feel so low that the best thing for me to do is to stay in and give my self time, but that doesn’t mean I have to spend every day of my life hidden away if I have a few doubts in my head. So that’s why I think I need some new rules to live by.

1.Start saying yes.
The countless times I have passed up an opportunity just because it seems a little out of my comfort zone is ridiculous. Say yes to the things being offered and you never know, you might just enjoy it

2.Understand your limits (in regards to rule 1 especially)
It’s all good saying yes to everything, but not everything is right for you. Understand what is slightly out of your comfort zone but possible, and what is just outrageous and unrealistic.

3.Reflect the good times
spending too much time concentrating on the bad things that have happened the last time you did something will only make you panic more – I have to admit to this, I do this far too much. Try remember how much of a blast you had and remember you’re doing this to get past the anxiety and the only way you’ll do that is by pushing yourself that little bit.

I found the most perfect post on Tumblr which I thought was fab (the one I’ve uploaded here) and I think the ‘advice’ in this picture is brilliant and I will be definitely be printing this out and sticking it somewhere where I will see it – the inside of my notebook maybe? I think it would be a great reminder.

 Some people might see this post as petty and crap, I know that. There’s some people out there that might not really understand this feeling, but I also know there’s people out there that will. And I don’t know if this will help you if you’re reading this and feel the same, but I hope it does. You’re not alone, as I’ve found out lately. There’s people who can relate and talking to each other about it really does help. Another thing is that I know this is written rather poorly and where I’ve put in the words ‘I don’t want to do this’….that’s the way my mind works to make myself feel as though I’m in control of a situation and making a choice not to involve my self…but in reality…it’s more like ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘my mind will not allow myself to do this’ for my self and so many others. So please keep that in mind. It’s not a ‘habit that needs breaking’…it’s a lifestyle and a way of being that needs a lot of time to change.