We all have that one particular thing that makes us cringe at the sight or even the thought of. It could be your first kiss where you two butt heads and knew right then and there, you were not going to have your happily ever after. It could be you throwing up in the sixth grade while presenting a project in the same room as your crush.
Regardless if it’s projectile vomiting or a not-so-fun Disney reenactment of your first kiss, everyone has an embarrassing story. Now, what you do with those unbearable emotions and memories is what I came here to discuss today: five major ways to stop reliving those embarrassing memories and make room for more fun and enjoyable ones.
- Face the Incident Head On
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Establish the unbearable event and distinguish why it was so embarrassing in the first place. The first step to letting go is to accept it and confront the emotions head-on. Ask yourself, “Why was this so embarrassing and why do I keep reliving it?” Instead of thinking what’s the quickest way for me to make a run for it when those embarrassing moments happen, maybe laugh it off. Make a joke out of it and show you’re not so bothered by what happened. If you don’t make a scene, nobody else would think twice about it either.
- Next is to ask yourself, “How does this event affect me now?”
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Sure, it might be the talk of the town for a couple of days depending on how bad the incident was, but at the end of the day, people have their own lives. Their own embarrassing stories that they want to avoid thinking or reliving. How does throwing up in the sixth grade determine what will happen to you when you’re twenty? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, especially because by the time you are twenty, nobody else will remember or even think of that incident. Coping with humor is my go-to in any uncomfortable situation, it tends to lighten the mood and create what could have been an embarrassing memory, into a funny one.
- Simply Confide in a Friend
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As someone who tends to overthink every possible outcome, talking it out with friends helps a lot. Having a different perspective can be very helpful in the sense that the uneasy feelings you have could be all in your head. The incident you may think is the end of the world, may not even be close to it. In fact, some people didn’t even notice. Confiding in friends allows you to get everything off your chest and gives you insight on someone else’s point of view. Obviously, when something different or slightly weird happens to you personally, your brain tends to blow it way out of proportion giving you the false pretense that you messed up worse than you think. Airing out how you really feel and talking out loud can actually lead to you realizing what happened wasn’t as bad as you think it was.
- View yourself from the outside perspective
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Like I mentioned before, our minds tend to make small situations into mega earthquakes because sometimes we forget people don’t really care that much. When in an awkward or uncomfortable situation, ask yourself, “If I was watching a fellow peer present a project and they stuttered a couple of times, would I make fun of them or think they embarrassed themselves?” No. I would not. With that being said, the person who stuttered in front of the class probably feels very embarrassed. Put yourself in your environment’s point of view. Chances are, they don’t think you’ve embarrassed yourself and probably didn’t even notice.
- Pay other’s perception no mind
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There’s an art to not caring what people think of you. The people who are meant to be in your life and genuinely care about you, aren’t going to care if you threw up on your crush in the sixth grade. Everyone has their moments and nobody on this earth is perfect. In this day in age, it’s so important to protect your peace and don’t worry about what other people think of you. If they’re not paying your bills or helping you get to where you need to be in life, who cares what they think. You are you and that’s all that matters.
Embarrassing moments are what keep life balanced. If all the events in your life went well, there wouldn’t be any to laugh about down the road. I know that when an embarrassing moment happens, it’s easy to think the worst, but remember nobody’s perfect. Find people who accept and embrace your flaws and be the person who is there for other people when they experience something embarrassing. We’re human and as far as I’m concerned, there isn’t a human being on this planet that hasn’t experienced something embarrassing before. I promise you’re not alone.