Free Mind Over Fear: How To Squash Your Fears, Overcome Anxiety, and Boost Your Self-Esteem In Just 30 Days by Victor L. Fox Page B

own problems; one of them being severe social anxiety. Like I said, I don’t have the answers to everything, but I do have the answer to fear and anxiety, and I can’t wait to share this knowledge with you.  
    Since most of the information in this book is not mine and has been obtained through lots of research, please understand that all this information is not on trial. In other words, the information in this book has been tested and proven to be effective by some of the greatest minds in the world. If you should reject any of this information, please keep in mind that you are doing it because of your current beliefs; which is something we will talk about a little later.
    It’s been a long time since I’ve been in school, but if I close my eyes I can clearly see that quiet kid sitting in the back of the classroom specifically to avoid being noticed. My grades were always pretty bad for two main reasons. One, because I didn’t show any class participation, and two, I had terrible eyesight. In fact, by the time I was in high school my vision got so bad that when I came to see an optometrist for the first time, he checked my vision and his eyes grew as big as watermelons. He asked me, “How do you live without glasses? How do you even cross the street?” and I just shrugged.
    That day I got my first pair of eyeglasses, but I was too scared to put them on in school because of ridicules thoughts about being laughed at. So because I didn’t participate in class and couldn’t see the board, my grades really suffered. In fact, I had to get a GED just so that I could get out of high school.  
    After receiving my GED I was facing two choices. I could either go to college, or I would have to get a job. At the time, it was the toughest choice of my life because I had no idea of what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to enroll myself into college because I knew that I would probably get the same results as I did in high school. Only this time I would actually have to pay for my education. On the other hand, not going to college meant that I would have to get a job. Of course getting a good job seemed like Mission Impossible because I didn’t have any real education. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, I was also terrified of speaking to people.  
    I can clearly remember sitting in my room reflecting on my life up to that point and being totally disgusted with myself. I kept asking, “why is it that some people have all the self-confidence in the world while someone like me couldn't even say hello to a stranger without feeling nervous?” In fact, this question became the fuel in my search for a cure to social anxiety. I was tired of wasting the best years of my life confined in my home feeling lonely and miserable all the time. I was tired of feeling like a complete loser.  
    I remember going to public places and feeling totally awkward every time. For example, I would go to a store and see some other guy effortlessly striking up a conversation with the cashier while I just stood there wishing that I could do the same. When my turn would come, I felt the need to say something too, but I only ended up feeling awkward -- so I paid quickly without making eye contact and ran away as fast as I could!
    Even when I would somehow end up in a group conversation, while everyone was having a great time, I just stood there pretending to listen, but all I could really focus on was the "monkey chatter" in my head -- saying things like: “you have to say something, they'll think you're a snob if you stay quiet, they'll think I'm stupid, they won't like me if I won't contribute to the conversation.”  
    I knew that I had to do something if I wanted my life to get any better. I just couldn't live like this any longer. So I started reading books on social anxiety, fear, and self-confidence. I read all the books on those topics that I could possibly get my hands on. I was vigorously looking for a solution to my problem, and soon I noticed a