In my journey from AFC to PUA
1-vt81510.html?postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0, I realized that a strong inner game was not a option when it comes to achieve what I want. Yet, building a strong inner game takes time since you have to get rid of years of weak behaviours.
How to get rid of my weak inner game and build a stronger one? That's a hard question obviously. Yet, I wanted to try to answer that question and find the pattern in my mind that is responsible for my weak inner game. The idea here is to better understand the problems in order to take actions.
Disclaimer.
This post is all about me. It's not field tested and it's certainly not perfect. I started to think about all this to give me a big picture of what happens in my mind when I have a negative thinking pattern. Yes, it is a simplification. I have no knowledge about psychology, all this is based on my observations. I'm posting that "theory" because I think it might help other AFC to understand what happens in their mind and how to take action about it.
This post is for newbies who want to learn pick-up and are struggling with their inner game, like me.
The five basic emotions of an AFC.
I started to think about the emotions that make me an AFC. I came up with 5 principal emotions:
- FRUSTRATION: unsatisfaction, not getting what you want, not achieving your goals, ...
- INSECURITY: lack of confidence, being unease in social interactions, being unable to handle something...
- FEAR: being affraid of getting out of my comfort zone, being affraid of being unable of handling an issue...
- ANGER: being aggressive...
- NEEDYNESS: feeling that nobody cares for me, looking for approval, looking for attention...
These emotions/thoughts are responsible for my weak inner game and my lack of consistency. They are all linked to each other: insecurity brings needyness, fear leads to insecurity and so on... How are they linked in my mind?
Unveiling the hidden Mickey in myself.
I started to think about the relations between these emotions. Here's what I came up with: the hidden Mickey.
In this pattern, FRUSTRATION is the most important element since it is related to all the other emotions. That means that it is the hardest part to change. FRUSTRATION comes from my NEEDYNESS ("nobody cares about me") and my FEAR ("why is this happening to me?"). On the other hand, FRUSTRATION leads to ANGER ("fuck that shit") and INSECURITY ("I can't handle that").
I also realized that, on the contrary, FEAR and ANGER easier to change since it is related to only 2 emotions. FEAR ("I can't handle this alone") brings NEEDYNESS ("I need somebody") and NEEDYNESS ("I'm alone") brings FEAR ("I can't handle this alone"). In the mean time ANGER ("Fuck all that shit") brings INSECURITY ("I'm not comfortable with that") and INSECURITY ("I can't handle that") leads to ANGER ("Fuck me").
Here's an illustration of how that negative pattern works:
Quote:
ILLUSTRATION: sometimes, when I'm not in my comfort zone, when I'm SCARED, I begin to think about that good old time when "everything was ok", when I was with my ex-girlfriend. I quickly become FRUSTRATED (why am I thinking about her? Why was I unable to keep her?) and NEEDY. I feel like I need someone, I need attention, someone to speak to. Little by little I lose my confidence and start to feel INSECURE. Then I usually feel ANGRY and blame her for what happens to me: why has she done that to me? Fuck her...
Of course all of that is a fiction created by my mind. Truth is, I was not happy with that relation either... but it was a comfort zone for me. This negative thinking pattern fucks me up. And every time I'm in a unease situation, my lizard brain makes me think about that and kills confidence, self-esteem... and increase my approach anxiety.
There are one main vicious circle (FRUSTRATION, NEEDYNESS, INSECURITY) and 2 smaller ones (FRUSTRATION, ANGER, INSECURITY and FRUSTRATION, FEAR, NEEDYNESS). These negative thoughts comes from all the Disney movies and romantic shit I've believed in before: treat her like a princess, you'll get her. So it was kind of ironic to see that I could create a Mickey head with these relations between the main emotions. Now that I have determined the negative pattern in myself, how to break these vicious circles and take advantage from them?
Reversing the pattern.
It is hard to change the way I have been thinking for years... but this challenge is also an advantage... if I succeed to change this negative thinking pattern, it will be hard to change it back too. I think the key element here is to change these emotions one by one.
- FRUSTRATION => SERENITY: being relaxed about what's going on.
- INSECURITY => ASSURANCE: being confident, assured.
- FEAR => UNAFRAID: being unafraid, feeling that I can handle things.
- ANGER => PEACEFUL: staying calm, avoiding to hurt people, avoiding to blame others.
- NEEDYNESS => SELF-SUFICIANT: stopping looking for approval, stopping needing someone.
Here is the reversed pattern:
I have to reprogram myself in order to have a strong inner game, to have confidence, to be alpha.
How to stop that negative thinking pattern and reverse the hidden Mickey?
How to reverse the hidden Mickey.
Some of these negative feelings, like FEAR and ANGER, are easier to tackle. Yet, if I don't adress all these negative feelings at the same time, I will fail on stoping this negative thinking pattern. Indeed, if I only focus on ANGER for example, I'll still feel INSECURE because of my FRUSTRATION.
What can I do to stop the negative loop and start a positive thinking pattern? I've been thinking about it and came up with some commandments I have to rely on. These statements are the basics to stop the negative thinking pattern and prevent my lizard brain to take advantage on me.
The commandments.
The purpose of the commandments is to change my mindset and thus allow me to stop and reverse the negative thinking pattern.
1-
Accept everything.
Accept everything the way it is, stop trying to change the past, stop wishing the world was different, stop complaining about it.
2-
Take responsibility.
You are the one responsible for what happens in your life. I must stop blaming others.
3-
Be in the moment.
Stop being your my mind and just enjoy the moment: be spontaneous.
4-
Be honest.
Be honest with yourself, stop lying to yourself, stop allowing your mind to make up stories that fuck you up.
5-
Stop seeking approval.
Stop seeking approval, stop doing things just to be accepted by others. Stop giving approval in order to get it.
6-
Stop apologizing for being a man.
Stop apologizing for what you want, stop being sorry for wanting something.
7-
Do not masturbate.
Stop masturbation, it magnifies the negative thinking pattern.
8-
Meditate.
Daily meditation helps getting rid of anger and frustration.
9-
Work out.
Working out is a cheap and easy way to boost confidence.
10-
Approach.
Approaching helps fighting fear and insecurity and gives you competence (which leads to confidence).
11 -
Get a hobby.
Learn a competence, slave to a passion... It will help you get a confidence and kill you needyness.
12 -
Write a journal.
Keep track of your progress in a journal.
Of course, I would like to improve this list of commandment with your help guys. If you have any ideas, feedbacks, let me know on this thread!