What should I do if I am embarrassed of the things I like? How do I share my interest with people without getting nervous that they will not like me anymore?
I would like to preface this by saying that it’s perfectly normal to get stressed out about introducing different parts of yourself to new people or old people in your life. I would love to say that, no matter what you are into, it’s OK.
However, there are some things that I personally view as wrong, but I will be putting that aside during this. This brings up a valuable concept: point of view. In general, point of view is very important to pay attention to.
No two people have lived the exact same life, there is always something that separates our experiences from others. It’s a gift to be able to understand someone else’s perspective, and that is a key thing you need to think about when sharing a certain interest.
When sharing interests with other people, you need to prepare yourself for extreme reactions on both ends of the spectrum. This way, you’re prepared for any response between these extremes. The more you are prepared for the worst case scenario, the easier it is to be ok with the actual outcome. This is because we all can make up something far worse in our mind than the actual likely outcome. The only flaw with preparing for the extremes is overthinking, which can stress a person out. Prepare for the extreme but expect the middle outcome. It is very unlikely that the outcome is worse than you can imagine.
Another thing to consider is if it’s worth showing the person that side of you. A big thing people struggle with is knowing their own worth – even I struggle to see my worth at times. Not all people are worth your energy, and a great tool for realizing this is observation. Watch people’s habits and pay attention to typical outcomes in situations with them. Possessing this tool can help you make a more accurate prediction of what will happen, and it helps you see if it is worth letting certain people know you on a deeper level.
Overall it is impossible to know every outcome and predict everyone’s reaction to certain parts of you, but you can not let fear or hesitation hold you back. Putting yourself out there is one of the hardest things you can do, but it’s the most beneficial. And sometimes it is best to make these mistakes and share your interest with the wrong people, but it will teach you who really cares about you. Having one person who cares about you unconditionally is better than 10 people who only care about certain parts of you. Never be embarrassed of what you’re interested in, it’s part of who you are, and the person you are is important.
