"When one's own stupidity cuts like a knife!"

"I'm such a fool! God! I can't believe I said that! I can't believe I did that! I wish I could disappear and not have to face anyone ever again!"

Sound familiar? It must, because everyone (yes, even the cool people) has totally blown it at least once. And when that happens, we feel like a complete fool! No matter how hard we try, we all end up looking pretty foolish from time to time. We can try to look cool or totally in control, but deep down we struggle with fears, worries, lack of confidence and low self-esteem. Sometimes, one can get too obsessed with embarrassing moments that no longer will it be considered as embarrassment, but as shyness. Embarrassment is a temporary phenomenon that can be experienced by anyone. Shyness, on the other hand, is more of a personal dispositional attribute, a potential that individual brings to the interaction. Shyness is something MORE SERIOUS for it affects one's social life drastically. If YOU cannot cope with social situations, show less initiative during conversations, let more and longer silences develop, maybe it's time to pay more attention to your social self.

Ever wonder what you should do when facing an embarrassing situation? Well, here are a few tips:

1) Stop. Notice you're feeling very embarrassed. Don't get defensive. DOn't try to cover up. Just feel the embarrassment for a moment. The intensity of the feelings will pass much faster if you don't try to hide them or pretend they're not there.

2) FORGIVE YOURSELF! As long as you weren't deliberately trying to hurt someone or put them down, just chalk it out for what it was... a dumb, human mistake.

3) If your mistake caused anyone a problem, acknowledge it to yourself. (Sometimes, this is the hardest part!) Then apologise to the person who was hurt. It won't kill you to say "I'm sorry". In fact, it will lift a huge load from of your shoulders. It'll make you feel much better.

4) Think before you speak or do anything next time. It might just save you from embarrassing moments in the future.

5) Even when you are embarrassed, it's important to push yourself a little. It would probably feel better if you could just crawl into a hole, but just try to keep on participating in the conversation.

6) Get back out there and ENJOY LIFE!

**Sometimes, we get this feeling that everyone is staring at us, reading our minds and rejoicing our agony, this isn't true. You are so much aware of what's going on inside of you than anyone else can ever be. WHY? Because everyone else is too busy worrying about their own dumb mistakes to care that much about yours. Remember that!

Back