Excellent story. This resonates with me very strongly.
Social freedom is an amazing trait to have, which you can (I certainly did and continue to) learn.
Some of my friends think I am crazy. I think I am socially free.
How your inner monologue runs when in social situations, or even walking to the shops for milk, greatly affects how you act.
As a hetro man, a classic example is nervousness in approaching a girl on the street you see walk by to find out if you like each other enough for a date or more. Thoughts like "your not allowed to (talk/stop/interrupt/greet) her on the street" and other limiting beliefs that prevent you from taking risks and grabbing life with such amazing force, all because of social conditioning and worrying about what other people will think of you, sucks.
Changing how you think, and instead becoming excited at the chance you could be bringing an amazing person into your life is much better.
When you realize that thought process exists and work to change it, in my experience, amazing adventure happens.
This applies to every aspect of life, from how you treat others, family, relationships, and work.
Changes to how you think let you not only take opportunities, but make them.
Perhaps I did, it's hard for me to say, but I'd estimate my views on reality are pretty well average for a white, not-rich, not-poor, twenty-something in Scotland.
My intention wasn't to question why everyone didn't woop and holler at his "mundane achievement". The point, if any, I was trying to make was more that I, Alex, and perhaps others, can hold ourselves back from doing things we want to do for fear of failure and rejection. And that learning to get over that fear could be beneficial.
Indeed, if I had any idea that this post was going to end up on Hacker News, rather than just as an unread scrawl on my blog, written over coffee on a Monday morning, perhaps I wouldn't have had the guts to write it at all.
The closing thought about the high-five was less a question to the world, and more a thought to myself that had I been the one diving off the board, worrying about being rejected (consciously or subconsciously), that it would have been pretty awesome to 16-year old me if some random dude had given me a high-five.
It's entirely possible though that poor writing and or structure didn't do a good job of conveying my points. Next time I'll spend a bit more time planning :)
Social freedom is an amazing trait to have, which you can (I certainly did and continue to) learn.
Some of my friends think I am crazy. I think I am socially free.
How your inner monologue runs when in social situations, or even walking to the shops for milk, greatly affects how you act.
As a hetro man, a classic example is nervousness in approaching a girl on the street you see walk by to find out if you like each other enough for a date or more. Thoughts like "your not allowed to (talk/stop/interrupt/greet) her on the street" and other limiting beliefs that prevent you from taking risks and grabbing life with such amazing force, all because of social conditioning and worrying about what other people will think of you, sucks.
Changing how you think, and instead becoming excited at the chance you could be bringing an amazing person into your life is much better.
When you realize that thought process exists and work to change it, in my experience, amazing adventure happens.
This applies to every aspect of life, from how you treat others, family, relationships, and work.
Changes to how you think let you not only take opportunities, but make them.