While I'm not much of a fan of Eastern philosophies, one thing I do like out of Lao Tzu for instance is the saying that the one that is most true to the Tao of Nature (path of nature or enlightenment) is the one that does not care.
Stop caring about your negative thoughts, what might have been or what is, and forget how people feel about you. Forget it now and forever.
Are relationships and dating tiring? It can be, but forget the emphasis and biological drive. Forget about the way society may be like today or the expectations you have to prove.
Since it's Spring/Summer, I recommend this: Get at least 2-3 hours of Sunlight a day, more positive people will need less. This means actually going out and doing something outdoors even if it's just biking or walking or whatever. You'll feel better and the world will feel more open. Negative thinking may lead to various forms of depression and sunlight will counteract that somewhat.
Then start to self-improve, but not because you want to be more attractive but because this is life and you'll have wasted it by being that nobody retail guy that does nothing that nobody else notices. Being someone requires effort else we are all just mindless drones in an uncaring machine.
Work out because it improves your life and try walking/jogging/running daily depending on your fitness level. Bring more organization into your life by dressing well, cleaning up, and keeping things tidy in your life. A messy habit brings a messy life. Ultimately, this is all to learn one thing. Discipline.
Look at all the times in your life where you're playing games, listening to music or otherwise killing time and letting your life pass by without notice. Decrease that. Yes, there's something to be said about having hobbies but since you only live once, make room for trying a variety of things and doing only the most enjoyable of those.
Start multi-tasking. One less game a year can translate into 4-5 significant works by the worlds greatest men from which you can learn from, and you can read these on the way to work, sitting on the can, eating dinner, etc. My favorite is The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, I suggest reading that.
Once you have that discipline and self-worth down, your confidence will flow from it and that will help you through pretty much everything life can throw at you. You don't have to be a jerk or a player, but try to be virtuous and when I mean that I mean the Roman concept of virtue, from the root virs "of men".
Aspire to be great and proudly claim what you're good at. Treat all other people and things in life as equal to you or lesser but never greater. Never bow or scrape to anyone regardless of their position of power or threats and never sit in silence where you can speak your mind.
Once you are done growing up to being in active control of your own life, all the things you want in terms of sociability will be yours to take simply because everyone else will be too lazy to have done what you just did.
Assemble a circle of good friends or people you can talk to. This thread can be helpful to that but nothing beats one on one interaction, since we evolved for that.
I missed this on the last page, but great post! I'd hope that anyone having self-improvement issues would read through this post in its entirety. It's a great road map to starting on your better life.
I like the sound of this, but I'd have to adopt the mindset of "I am such a great person, I enjoy my own company, even though others don't enjoy my company." "That girl that just ignored me missed out on a great guy."
If I was a man that had had relationships, and had a woman/women express interest in me and enjoy being with me, I'd find that so much easier. I'd be able to refer to those experiences with women in my mind, and know that any woman that rejects me missed out on somebody that has showed other women a great time.
I can keep telling myself that I am a great guy, that they missed out. That I enjoy my own company all of the time, and that I am developing myself. But they really haven't missed out on anything. They meet a funny, smart guy that is relatively, or really good looking, and then they're happy. I am still that non-entity that they take no interest in because I walk funny, appear meek or timid, or am just plain ugly. Or all three.
They have not missed out on anything.
I feel that to develop myself in the manner you describe, I'd need to have or have had healthy relationships. I'd need to have those emotional connections.
I understand that results (and confidence in particular) are very hard to gain when everything in your life thus far has reinforced your reasoning for not being confident, but the things you listed are all things you can change. If those truly are your reasons for not being confident in yourself, you should feel good about the fact that you were able to diagnose what it is about yourself that you don't like. There are a lot of people in this thread who struggle with self-improvement because they don't know what it is that they need to change about themselves in the first place.
You walk funny? Research some videos on youtube that show proper walking techniques. It's actually more common than you may think. A lot of fitness gurus emphasize proper walking form as the first step to getting in shape. You're definitely not alone here.
You appear meek and timid? Work out. Honestly, there's no better confidence booster than a good workout. You don't even need a gym, in fact, I'd encourage you not to use a gym at first. Research a good plyometric exercise (P90x?) that you can do in your own home and on your own time, if you like that, then think about joining a gym, but I think you'll find that you can do a lot just in your own home.
You're ugly? I'm willing to bet that you aren't. A lot of people think they're ugly, but in reality they've just yet to find what works best for them aesthetically. Dress better, get a new haircut, grow a beard/shave, get in shape. Create a new you. All of this will contribute to your self-confidence, which will put you way above where you are now.
My point is that you aren't as helpless as you think you are. Yes, a lot of this is just regurgitated information that we constantly preach in this thread, but we preach it because it works. You can do this just like anyone else.
Share how please.
I ended up removing and blocking the girl I was seeing. on FB. I just kept going on her page and it was like all that time we spent meant nothing to her (even though she also kind of said that). But literally since the day we called it quits she's added like 10 guys and has been posting all shit like she's not feeling a thing and hasn't messaged me or anything, which is fine. It just sucks that it's like I meant nothing to her and she's already moved on. Anyway I removed and blocked her on FB, which will prob help since I spend a lot of time on there. Some women can be cold as ice!
I know how you feel. Your situation is strikingly similar to mine, in that she was able to end things and move onto someone else (the same day in fact), like I meant nothing to her. It's a tough pill to swallow, and to be honest, I keep coughing mine back up. Unfortunately, I find that when that happens it just makes a situation all that more difficult to get over. It will probably sting for a little bit but I think you're moving in the right direction.
You made the right move in removing her. There's a lot of truth to the whole
"out of sight, out of mind" technique. Just be prepared to deal with the inevitable message that she'll send you in the coming weeks about how she'd like to remain friends/hangout in the future. While she may not be regretting her decision now, she will in the future, because she's missing out on an awesome dude in yourself. Tell yourself that, because it's true. Best of luck!