As a man and a human being in general when it comes to social situations confidence is your life blood. Do what you must to build confidence and belief in yourself. From personal experience my go to method is, challenge yourself. In small and big things. Set little challenges for yourself and it will help you to stay confident.
No one has the power to define your self-worth but many will pretend as though they do.
Insecurity is loud.
Life is less about following the dreams and values of others and more about setting your own course and figuring out what it is you are passionate about and pursuing that fullheartedly.
Setting goals for yourself and a path for yourself and pursuing it with unwavering commitment, belief and determination is something that is guaranteed to set you apart from the average man.
Learn to love yourself flaws and all. Too many people walk around sabotaging different aspects of their life due to a lack of belief in themselves and what they can accomplish.
Take care of your body and stay active throughout your life. Age is just a number as long as you make your health a priority. If you need proof look up Jack Lalanne.
There are few things in life that are as genuinely satisfying as helping, encouraging and supporting people who truly want to be helped.
Learn how to identify and distance yourself from toxic people and people who are overly negative.
Alot of times the process of growing and improving is a painful one. Some people run away from it others face it head on. There are two types of pain you will go through in life, the pain of discipline and the pain of regret.
Look up these texts and see if any of them resonate with you: It's not the critic who counts - Teddy Roosevelt Invictus Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
The hallmark of becoming an adult is taking responsibility. It may seem like a boring topic now but at some point after you've read a few things you may realize that taking responsibility is a very powerful and very deep concept/practice. At that point being "Master of your fate and captain of your soul" can and most likely will take on a new meaning."
Taking responsibility for yourself and the point you are at in life is a very difficult thing. It's something that alot of people run away from. If you stand your ground and look at the things that you control in your life and take responsibility for where you are at you can begin to understand how much power you have in influencing your own destiny.
Everything from the things you say to yourself in your head, the people you hang out with, the time you invest in your physical and mental betterment is a domain that you can take ownership of. When you do so, naturally the amount of work that you need to do increases but what will also change is that you embody less of a reactionary mindset and you are more action oriented. You are less of a raft in the middle of the ocean and more of a captain commanding your vessel across the seas. There is a huge difference.
If you ever need extra motivation read up on Dan Gable.
Don't ever feel ashamed for making a mistake, the most important thing is to learn from your mistakes so that they don't happen again. Mistakes are a part of the learning process be patient with yourself.
I don't know about the time you are in now but nowadays people are very fixated on instant gratification and one thing I have to share is this: all the great athletes, painters, masters of their domain have had to deal with frustrations and disappointments. The people you see being praised as elite athletes and performers have all spent uncountable hours outside of the spotlight training, preparing, dedicating themselves, and failing. Don't compare yourself to the people you see who are dominant in their field and feel like you are less of a person because you don't measure up.
The fact of the matter is people get the spotlight shone on them after the work has been done. After the sleepless nights, frustrating results, disappointments and trying times. It's all about effort. Give the things you want your best shot and accept that more often than not things aren't going to come easy, there will be frustrations and disappointments. This applies to something like Math.
Please don't sit around and say "I'm not a math person" you can do anything you set your mind too. Like I said the person that has unwavering belief in himself sets himself far apart from the average man. Using math as an example, alot of people have troubles/difficulties in math and conclude hey I'm not a math guy. Fact of the matter is the difficulties are part of the process of getting better. You can't go into things expecting/ feeling entitled to things going smoothly. Yes things will be frustrating and they will be hard but if you make a decision to commit and do everything in your power to stay your course and do whatever it takes seek out every resource you need, practice as often as you need, success will be inevitable.
When you get introduced to an athlete like Usain Bolt you get to see the highlights of him surpassing his competition, making it look easy. You never get to see his training sessions, you never see him throwing up on the side of the track after having pushed himself on the track, you never see him in the weight room. You have to make an effort to see those things and that is why it's so easy to get caught up in the idea that if a skill doesn't come easily it must not be for you, not the case.
Read a book by Jim Rohn he's amazing.
Insecurity is expensive, being confident and proud of yourself is a rare thing and worth much more than buying new watches, expensive clothing etc. to impress people.