How to Be Yourself

that’s the biggest cost of FOMO: actually missing out.

we can put action before motivation.

This is self-compassion. At its essence, Embrace is simply giving yourself the same support, warmth, and kindness you would get from a good friend or that you would offer a good friend.

Proximity was the biggest predictor of friendship: next-door neighbors were most likely to be friends.

And here’s the paradox: you can grow and stretch without changing who you are.

we hold ourselves to strict, near-impossible standards but are understanding and compassionate to everyone else. As if that double standard weren’t bad enough, we also try to see the best in others, but assume others will see the worst in us.

Social anxiety makes us masters of ending conversations. It’s easy: a certain tone of finality,

“How bad would that really be?”

Social awareness is necessary and good. It’s the closest we come to mind reading. Properly pruned, social awareness yields social payoff. But if social awareness grows wild and unchecked, instead of merely being aware, we get hyperaware. We over-read social situations, think the spotlight shines too brightly on us, and get a wee bit paranoid. We ta