- Heya playa.
Do you ever find yourself in awkward situations
not really knowing how to handle it or what to do
and you wanna change that, you wanna be able
to embrace those situations without feeling awkward?
Don't worry, in this video I'm gonna explain
exactly what you can do to embrace the awkward,
to take control of it and to take control of your own life.
♪ This is The Josh Speaks ♪
♪ You're watching the Josh speak ♪
For those of you that are new here
my name is Josh and every single Monday
through Friday I make videos sharing tips,
ideas, and stories teaching you how to be your best self.
So if you wanna learn and grow, hit the subscribe
button and make sure to click on the notification bell.
Now, you might be thinking, "What is it about me?
"What holds me back from just embracing those situations?
"Why am I always so awkward and nervous
"whenever I'm talking to people or saying
"something that's on my mind?"
A big reason for that is because a lot
of people doubt themselves.
They don't believe they have what it takes
to share something in a conversation,
to talk to someone and to be heard,
to feel listened to.
So sometimes it's just easier to keep
your mouth shut, to stay far in the back,
and to hope and want things to happen your way
without actually doing anything about them.
I wanna get your actual opinion here
so I'm gonna put a poll up on the screen.
Whenever you watch one of my videos
or another advice video, how often do you take
that advice and start applying it into your life
versus just kind of walking away and not really
doing anything about it?
Phone the poll, that way I can now where you guys
stand when it comes to actually taking action steps.
A principle I talk a lot about, which I go
into more detail on in my book
Embracing the Awkward, is that believing
that we can do anything prevents us from creating
limitations that aren't there to begin with.
A lot of times when we think that we're not good
enough or smart enough or funny enough
to do something, we're creating those limitations
then they aren't actually there.
Other people aren't setting them for us.
Our own mind is putting them in place.
So how do you start fighting against all
those awkward feelings and thoughts
and situations you run into?
How do you kind of approach things from a cool,
calm, and confident perspective?
Well, I think a big part of it is recognizing
that who you are what you have to say matters.
You bring something important to the table.
But you're not gonna come to that revelation
until you start to recognize that you're such
an important piece in this world.
And that was something I had to learn for myself as well.
When I was in middle school and high school
and even in college, I was nervous and shy and awkward.
Whenever I was in a situation with people
I didn't know, I would retreat to the back,
kind of keep to myself, and stew in my own
negative thoughts thinking these people
didn't like me, they thought I was weird,
this just wasn't working out for me.
I was just an awkward person in an awkward situation.
But it wasn't until that moment in college
where I was sitting in my dorm that I had my big revelation.
I go into more detail in the book, so if you do
wanna hear that story, know how I got there,
check out the book.
But basically what I learned from that experience
was this, that I was a part of humanity,
part of the world, and I realized that what I had
to say and my contributions to it mattered as well.
And I know you might be thinking, "How does this
"help me get over my awkwardness?
"I just wanna be able to talk to a girl
"whenever I see them."
But trust me, there's a bigger picture here
that you need to look at the context of.
All week long I'm gonna be making videos
kind of talking about Embracing the Awkward
so you're definitely gonna wanna check out
the videos as the week goes on.
But basically the first initial step
is to recognize that you have something valuable to say.
You can make contributions to other
conversations, to talking to people, to places that you go.
Your voice matters, and until you can recognize
that you're always gonna feel awkward
'cause you're always gonna feel left out.
You're always gonna feel like you're not
good enough, like what you have to say isn't important.
And the truth is, it is.
And look, it doesn't matter if you're 12
years old or 20 years old or 40 years old,
the point is life is a journey and no one
has the map for it.
So every awkward situation you run into,
every time you wanna figure out what to do, learn from it.
Grow from that experience, see what you can do
differently the next time around
and use that as an opportunity to reflect
on yourself, to ask yourself, "Am I being kind here?
"Am I being kind to myself?
"Am I doing all that I can to really
"just put myself out there?"
If the answer's no, then that's always
something you can work on.
But the point is that your awkwardness
doesn't have to define you and that's something
I want to drill home here.
But now I wanna know, what do you think?
Do you feel like your awkwardness is the thing
that holds you back from developing deeper
connections with other people and even with yourself?
Leave your comments down below and we'll talk about it.
Now remember guys, the learning doesn't end there.
If you wanna hear the full story of my revelation
and how I kind of came to this sense of being
check out my book, Embracing the Awkward.
It's a guide for teens to succeed
at school, life, and relationships.
I share my stories in there and my advice
so definitely check it out.
The link will be up there on the screen.
You can also tap on the playlist
to watch other videos, part of this
Embracing the Awkward series that I'm putting
together so you can learn why this book
is so crucial in helping you be your best self.
Nano guys, I'll catch you tomorrow.
As always, love and peace.