So far, the Great Anxiety Challenge has propelled you through some fun activities: singing karaoke and eating alone were the first two challenges. How do you feel so far? If you’ve got a journal system going already, you might want to take some time and write a few entries around both of the Anxiety Challenges you have taken up to this point. Be sure to be completely honest with yourself as always in order to get a clear picture of what your strengths are, as well as the opportunities you have for improvement.
With that said, let’s move onward to the next Anxiety Challenge: speed dating! You’ll be diving headfirst into the fast paced world of speed dating in order to continue to work on getting out of your comfort zone. Speed dating is appropriately named because instead of spending the night getting to know one person, you’ll be attending a special event designed to allow you to meet several people through the evening. Since this series is written for the budget conscious person specifically, this is still not an expensive venture. In fact, many nightclubs and bars offer speed dating events in order to attract new customers.
The primary key that you want to keep in mind as you go through the speed dating event is to just be yourself. Of course, proper hygiene and wearing good clothes will go a long way in making you feel comfortable enough to open up to other people. Since you normally only have a few minutes with each person, you can focus on putting your best foot forward instead of worrying about what the person thinks about you in the long run. Your natural personality will carry you through each “date” and make it easier over time to open up, have a good time, and maybe even meet someone special!
This challenge will be considered “mastered” if you can truly step back and say that you felt a connection with just one person. That may seem like a low goal to some; if you can achieve more connections, then definitely go for it! The main lesson here is that stepping out of your comfort zone does not have to be a bad thing.
The next challenge is right around the corner – are you ready?