Changing ones self

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Jul 5, 2009
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I'm not sure if I'm just being overly critical of myself or just being my usual know-it-all self, but I can't help but notice that I may be annoying a lot of people lately, being selfish and just a bit of a creep when it comes to girls =/
I'm not sure why, I've never noticed it until after I fell out with my best friend I've been kind of lost really and I just want people to like me.
I've always kind of been desperate for any kind of affection, well since the start of highschool. Not in the I want to be super popular, just to be accepted. But I always feel like no one wants to talk to me (only two people ever text me these days.)
My high-school graduation is wednesday week and I really just want to hit it off with the guys and the girls, I'm not much for picking up random girls lol
The woe's of a teenager hahaha

Any advice anyone?
 

ShadowKatt

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Mar 19, 2009
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Find happiness in yourself, not others. It will lead to confidence, and when you're confident in your own happiness, others will come to you.
 
Jul 5, 2009
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ShadowKatt said:
Find happiness in yourself, not others. It will lead to confidence, and when you're confident in your own happiness, others will come to you.
Confidence is not something I have issues with, I just never know what to talk about =/
 

Lionsfan

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Jan 29, 2010
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I would never suggest changing yourself to fit in. That's more or less becoming a fake just to fit in with people and in my opinion isn't worth it. I would suggest just putting yourself out there to people. Just ask people you're friendly with if they want to hang out sometime, acceptance will come by being yourself and finding common ground you can work with
 

DaphneRose

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Apr 30, 2011
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Oh, Death Korps. I think I may be able to help. Being told to be yourself is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that some people are conceited/temperamental/judgmental (things I'm trying to work on) and that they shouldn't work on making themselves better.

I had confidence issues too, but stuff like this [http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1OMYfm/ravivora.com/blog/speak-with-confidence-and-be-taken-seriously] (speak with confidence ... ) have really helped me a lot.

If you're interested, I have a few more links like that.
 

alandavidson

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Jun 21, 2010
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Death_Korps_Kommissar said:
ShadowKatt said:
Find happiness in yourself, not others. It will lead to confidence, and when you're confident in your own happiness, others will come to you.
Confidence is not something I have issues with, I just never know what to talk about =/
Find a subject that you both are comfortable with and go from there. It takes some practice, but you'll get there. Plus, humor is a big swing in your favor.
 

herts

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May 4, 2011
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Chill out about the whole thing, if you're grasping at people to be besties all the time, you'll send out those vibes and put people off. You seem like a decent person (as much as one can tell from a forum post) yeh try and make connections but don't let it consume you :3
 

zombiesinc

One day, we'll wake the zombies
Mar 29, 2010
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Death_Korps_Kommissar said:
I'm not sure if I'm just being overly critical of myself or just being my usual know-it-all self, but I can't help but notice that I may be annoying a lot of people lately, being selfish and just a bit of a creep when it comes to girls =/
What sort of things have you done that have left your friends and those around you thinking you're selfish and 'creepy' towards girls? You may think you don't know why, but give it some thought. Perhaps you'll think of a few habits that may have turned your friends away. It's possible that there's nothing that you've been doing to justify these reactions as well. But taking the time to asses the situation can only help you. From there you should be able to approach these friends and figure out what exactly the issue is. Hopefully they'll be willing to talk it out, rather than just shut you out.

I'm not sure why, I've never noticed it until after I fell out with my best friend I've been kind of lost really and I just want people to like me.
I've always kind of been desperate for any kind of affection, well since the start of highschool. Not in the I want to be super popular, just to be accepted. But I always feel like no one wants to talk to me (only two people ever text me these days.)
My high-school graduation is wednesday week and I really just want to hit it off with the guys and the girls, I'm not much for picking up random girls lol
Everyone wants to fit in, get along with others, and have friends to talk and share with, it's normal to worry about having that. But you've got to avoid letting yourself focus on this too much, otherwise the stress of fitting in and getting along with others will actually make it more difficult to actually fit in. Just be yourself, don't worry about what you should or should not talk about, and let things happen. If someone you know tells you you've done something wrong, or has a problem with something you've done, talk with them, sort it out, learn from it. That's how you reach a point where you fit in, and naturally get along with others.

And although you say you don't have any issues with confidence, your entire OP says otherwise. You're focused on fitting in, what you should or shouldn't say with others, and how well you get along with them. What's most important is being comfortable with who you are, taking part in things you enjoy, and treating others with respect. The more comfortable you are, the less you'll worry about what to talk about. If you respect others, they'll (mostly) respect you. Treat others the way you want to be treated and everything else will follow. So, relax, and just enjoy yourself. Especially during your graduation.
 

Ickorus

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Mar 9, 2009
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Never change who you are, just moderate it for other people.

For instance I swear quite a bit but I know some people who don't like swearing so I just avoid doing it around them.
 

razelas

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Oct 27, 2010
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Death_Korps_Kommissar said:
I'm not sure if I'm just being overly critical of myself or just being my usual know-it-all self, but I can't help but notice that I may be annoying a lot of people lately, being selfish and just a bit of a creep when it comes to girls =/
I'm not sure why, I've never noticed it until after I fell out with my best friend I've been kind of lost really and I just want people to like me.
I've always kind of been desperate for any kind of affection, well since the start of highschool. Not in the I want to be super popular, just to be accepted. But I always feel like no one wants to talk to me (only two people ever text me these days.)
My high-school graduation is wednesday week and I really just want to hit it off with the guys and the girls, I'm not much for picking up random girls lol
The woe's of a teenager hahaha

Any advice anyone?
You should directly confront them about what they think of you. And tell them you won't be mad/angry/sad, you're just looking for some outside perspective, some constructive criticism. As opposed to what some people are saying, it's okay to make some changes in your behavior to accommodate friends, as long as they don't infringe on your personal life.
 
Jul 5, 2009
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DaphneRose said:
Oh thanks Daphne and thank stumbled uppon.
Any more would be greatly appreciated.

Jelly ^.^ said:
I'm 19 in five months :L

herts said:
Hahaha I'm not just leaping at people screaming "Love meeee!" But I should probably just turn everything down a few pegs lol

zombiesinc said:
Epic snip so this post doesn't look awful
Thanks Zombie, I'm not really sure what other people think of me, that's why I'm worried. I can be fairly obnoxiously loud sometimes so I'm just really take a chill pill and let things pan out. It's really down to, I got in a fight with my friends ages ago and I can now barely function outside my own click, not much of a social butterfly, I feel like a fish out of water most of the time.
In terms of "creeping", I'm not really sure, I'm really struggling with aforementioned issues and it's really showing in this situation.
I'm lost really.

But thanks for the advice man, you've been a great help :)
 

zombiesinc

One day, we'll wake the zombies
Mar 29, 2010
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Death_Korps_Kommissar said:
Thanks Zombie, I'm not really sure what other people think of me, that's why I'm worried. I can be fairly obnoxiously loud sometimes so I'm just really take a chill pill and let things pan out. It's really down to, I got in a fight with my friends ages ago and I can now barely function outside my own click, not much of a social butterfly, I feel like a fish out of water most of the time.
In terms of "creeping", I'm not really sure, I'm really struggling with aforementioned issues and it's really showing in this situation.
I'm lost really.

But thanks for the advice man, you've been a great help :)
You've just got to find a balance between being concerned about what others may or may not think of you, and simply being who you are and confident in that. If you yourself feel you can be obnoxiously loud at times, it's good that A) you've recognized that and B) you're making an effort to tone it down a little.

Anyone who suddenly finds themselves removed from a group of friends is likely to feel a little more than unfamiliar with it, but once you've learned to function on your own and make new friends, you'll find yourself feeling more and more comfortable simply being out there, in social situations. It'll reach a point where it won't matter whether you're surrounded by friends or alone in a new area, but it can take time. Confidence really helps that along.

If you're struggling so much, why don't you talk to some of your other friends, or even the one you had a falling out with? See if you can't make amends and get back to simply being friends. At the very least you'll be able to figure out why it happened, and learn from that. While you're trying to find a comfortable spot when it comes to being in a social environment, try your best to avoid focusing on making friends, or feeling comfortable. The more you focus on that, the more stressed you're going to feel. The more stressed you feel the more likely you won't truly be yourself and may turn people away. It may take some time to get back into a comfortable spot, but it will happen.

Also, I absolutely love the avatar!
 

SiskoBlue

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Aug 11, 2010
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OK, the first part is the big stuff, but there's some quick fixes at the bottom for you...

Be wary when you ask what it is that other people might find annoying about you. Pick someone you trust and only ask ONE person. I did this, with two friends. Except they weren't two friends. One was a friend and the other was the girl who resented this friendship because I was "getting in the way". They both tore shreds off me. And my crimes? I talk too much (I can babble quite well when I'm happy) And didn't display a lot of tact (I have no problem discussing fecal movements or fallacies of religion at any place or time). That was it but it was enough for them to assassinate my character.

Fair enough, I asked for it. But here are some major tips I've learned.
1. DON'T TRY TO LIVE UP TO OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPECTATIONS. Or in other words, don't spend your time trying to please everybody. Firstly you're going to be guessing what people want, so you can get it wrong. Also people are fickle, try as you might to be the person you THINK they want you to be they'll shift the goal posts. And most importantly NO ONE ASKED YOU TO NOT BE YOURSELF. If you try really hard to please people, you might actually do it, but when they show no appreciation, or grattitude for the efforts you've made you'll grow resentful. But they didn't ask you to do it so they won't feel a need to thank you.

2. BE YOURSELF, IT SAVES TIME IN THE LONG RUN - Maybe you can fake it till you make it, as they say. Behaving in a particular way until it becomes habit is normal and is part of growing up. If you take a public speaking course and learn how to present yourself, it comes off forced to begin with, but then becomes second nature after a while. It becomes part of YOU. However, if you do want to grow in this way make sure it's for YOUR purposes (i.e. remember lessong 1 above).

However, generally it's better to be yourself and get rejected. It may suck to begin with but here's the secret, most people are not going to be your best friend. Nobody is friends with everybody, and if they are they make me highly suspicious. It comes down to this, if you pretend to be somebody else then none of your friends are real friends, they're friends with fake dude. This will make you feel horrible, isolated and incongruence (look up Carl Rogerson, Unconditional Love and Congruence to get a really clear picture of what this means. Believe me, it's far better to have two friends who know you than 20 friends who think you're somebody else. They'll find out eventually and slowly they'll stop being your friends, so save yourself the time now.

3. YOU'RE NOT DONE YET - Pace yourself. You are going to make and lose friends a lot over a life time. You are going to change in how you deal with people, confidence levels with different types of people, experience, work, all these things will change you in dramatic ways. Don't get hung up on "What I'm like!" just yet. You may have beliefs and principles and ideas and they can be rock solid, that's who you are, not how you appear to others. So relax, learn from your mistakes and watch and learn. Self-awareness is hard to master but you'll get there.

QUICK FIXES
But for the quick fix just practice these things now.

1. Where are you looking when you talk to people, face, chest, away, feet. Are you too close to them, too far away. Personal space varies a lot with people, try to match the person's tone, distance, posture, eye contact, etc.

2. There's a difference between trying to please people and empathy. Trying to please people is usually someone going over board with jokes, humour, etc. Empathy is trying to understand what the other person is feeling. Focus on the person you're talking to, ask them what they're into. HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PARTS. If you don't know something they're talking about ask questions. People love to educate and explain things. They may be reluctant because they're afraid of boring people (trying to meet other people's expectations) but don't let them, try to take a real interest. It may be black and white german films and incredibly dull but what you're tying to do is find out why THEY like it, not really the subject itself. Don't lie and pretend to know stuff either, that will always backfire. Also, you might find that the one thing person wants is for you to leave them alone. Then do just that, just say "Nice talkig to you, I'll see you later" and walk off.

3. STOP! DEAD AIR IS NOT YOUR PROBLEM ALONE - I'm guessing you do what a lot of people do, get terrified when there's an awkward pause and desparately try to shovel any old crap into the conversation. DON'T, DON'T, DON'T. Either end the conversation, let them fill it in, or take a moment to think about whether you were focusing on 1 and 2 above and whether it was working.

Don't worry about fitting in. There's 7 billion people out there, we all fit in somewhere, it just might not be right where you are right now.

Good luck.