“i can’t force myself to suddenly become a more confident person, that is something that will have to grow. I can learn, more and more, to do different things that will help me to become more confident, to let it grow. And that will be a gradual process with many ups and downs, so we’ll need to be patient with ourselves.”

I agree these are wise words.

I find the responsibility of the spiritual journey/search onerous. And sometimes confusing. I just wish I could stick to one truth, one way of looking at things. the Dalai Lama said “it’s better to stick to what you know, what you were raised on.” So he was not trying to recruit more Buddhists.
My parents were catholics all their lives and stayed true to the church. it made sense for them to do that in their generation. Our generations have a much tougher assignment with so much on the menu, its hard to choose.

sorry about that
definitely stick to your guns, don’t change to please others.
I’m much older than you and I can tell you from experience. Be strong. don’t give in. Shakespeare said “to thine own self be true”. they are the immature ones. You are wise enough not to get into that BS.

perry and jhc
so I have a question or two then.
What are your expectations in regards to the opposite sex?
How would you feel talking to a female version of yourself?
Don’t you realise that women are insecure and human as well?

It’s likely that women will gravitate toward you if you’re confident and self-secure

So that’s why women didn’t gravitate towards me. 🙂