are you out on your own or with a few buddies?

Last night I went out on the town to pick up girls and I crashed and burned horribly. It's not that I was rejected by anyone, it's that I didn't even try. My former fwb also friendzoned me which makes me feel even worse.

For the past year I've been reading up about pick up almost everyday. It's gotten to the point where I already know how I should go about picking up a woman. Find. Meet. Attract. Close. I know dozens of negs, hundreds of openers and everything in between. You name it I've read about it - in depth - already.

I went out on the town last night confident that I would be able to number close at least one girl but my approach anxiety is killing me man. Every time I see a pretty girl and I suddenly get butterflies in my stomach and if by some divine miracle I do actually approach her I end up bumbling through the conversation and all the PU material that I've learned just goes straight out the window.

I'm fine when it comes to warm approaches but for some reason I just can't manage to do cold approaches.
What am I doing wrong?

I feel you bro, because you got some experience in pickup stuff, you are giving yourself large expectations, and of course feeling like a failure when you can't meet them. I am running into the same problem recently where I try to do 'perfect' approaches because I know a lot of theory but can't implement them properly.

My advice is to start from zero, rework on the basic stuff and let go of everything you know at the moment. You need solid foundation in order to do more advance techniques. If you have approach anxiety, do the newbie drill by simply walking up to strangers and say hi, don't bother trying to attract. Treat it like a revision course to reconstruct your fundamentals and built confidence. Since you have some successes in the past, starting from zero and work your way up again won't take too long.

This is a very simple personal motto that's really helped me stay motivated and power through AA, bad states, poor logistics, rejections, etc. It's a simple way to reframe yourself as a guy who does, rather than a guy who thinks.

GATA is a very simple acronymn that's become my personal creed over the past few months.

GATA="Get After That Ass!!!!!!"

For me, this has been the 3 second rule, "Make the ho say no!," State, subcommunication, alpha-ness, persistence, all of that stuff rolled into one. It teaches you to think on your feet and build confidence within yourself. It harnesses your sexual energy into something productive.

You see a girl you think is cute? GATA!

Approach Anxiety killing you? GATA!

Don't know an opener? GATA!

Unsure what to say next? GATA!

Approach angle sucks? GATA!

Dressed like shit when a HB appears? GATA!

You get shot down by 10 girls? GATA!

Afraid you might show too much interest/neediness? GATA!

Intimidated in any way? GATA!

Nervous about escalating? GATA!

Don't know how to DHV and neg the target while feeling the Nimbus upon you and disarming obstacles while preparing your timebridge to the Day2 sex location? Fuck all that! GATA!

In the end, taking right action and just approaching girls will do more for you than reading (or stressing over) any theory or technical aspect of PU, which IMO only refine that into a more precise skillset in the hands of a seducer who already has this basic stuff handled.

You may think you're an artist, but an artist is someone who creates SOMETHING through ACTION! You've got to take the ACTION to be an artist. You've got to take the ACTION to ACHIEVE ANYTHING! Otherwise you're just a mental masturbator.

When you're out sarging, don't worry about the precise technical stuff in the moment. That will just fuck you up. If you feel any anxiety, any uncertainty, remember to GATA! GATA trumps the negativity and the excuses.

Now go GET AFTER THAT ASS!!!!!!