I Didn't Know I Needed This: The New Rules for Flirting, Feeling, and Finding Yourself—An Unfiltered Relationship Manual with Candid Insights, Embrace the Chaos of Modern Dating

by Eli Rallo

Dipping a toe in the water is easy when you realize the water is what you make it.

So here’s the whole truth: decenter embarrassment from your life. YOU DON’T KNOW HER. Risking being rejected is nothing if you don’t fear rejection. You’re in control here.

The reality is, nobody is perceiving you with the intensity you think they might be. I promise you, we are all thinking of ourselves approximately one thousand times more than other people are thinking of us. We are selfish beings. You’re not thinking of the person who believes you’re thinking of them, and vice versa.

Whenever I grow concerned about what someone, specifically in a romantic setting, may think of me, I remind myself of what I know to be true. Someone who met me once for a span of three hours and their opinions of me hold no candle to what I know of myself after spending twenty-five years getting to know who I am and who I’d like to be.