This question hits close to home for me. I was a shy kid growing up, and I had a pretty horrible stutter for most of my elementary school years. I am a natural introvert and have had to learn and practice at being an extrovert. Even now, walking into a strange gym takes incredible effort for me. So many new faces, so many names to learn, so many people to judge me and what I am wearing and how I train.
For some people, these thoughts can be crippling and induce paralyzing anxiety.
There is no quick fix, but there are some cheats to make it easier. You can go to a beginner’s class, where you can be pretty sure that most everyone else will be varying degrees of new. You can ask what the busiest days are so that you can instead go to class on the slower days. You can take a friend. You can take a private lesson or two.
Do whatever you have to do to get through the door. Once you take your first class, everything gets easier.
I asked a fellow white belt if they ever have trouble finding the courage to walk through the door to train. Their response was “Yes, every single time. And every time I get here I can’t believe I was even considering not coming in.” Spot on.
This question hits close to home for me. I was a shy kid growing up, and I had a pretty horrible stutter for most of my elementary school years. I am a natural introvert and have had to learn and practice at being an extrovert. Even now, walking into a strange gym takes incredible effort for me. So many new faces, so many names to learn, so many people to judge me and what I am wearing and how I train.
For some people, these thoughts can be crippling and induce paralyzing anxiety.
There is no quick fix, but there are some cheats to make it easier. You can go to a beginner’s class, where you can be pretty sure that most everyone else will be varying degrees of new. You can ask what the busiest days are so that you can instead go to class on the slower days. You can take a friend. You can take a private lesson or two.
Do whatever you have to do to get through the door. Once you take your first class, everything gets easier.
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LikeDislikeI asked a fellow white belt if they ever have trouble finding the courage to walk through the door to train. Their response was “Yes, every single time. And every time I get here I can’t believe I was even considering not coming in.” Spot on.
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