Is there a worse feeling than embarrassing ourselves? You must have experienced it yourself.
The whole world just stopped and saw your embarrassment while you were blushing. As if you were in some kind of Matrix.
And that embarrassing moment stayed with you.
How to stop thinking about embarrassing moments? The best strategy is to move on, to realize that everyone will forget about it and that it’s not as bad as you make it out to be in your head.
This all sounds great, but it’s easier said than done.
No one wants to embarrass themselves. That’s what we all fear.
It is important to us how others perceive us, and we do not want to appear stupid, clumsy, or rude in front of others.
In this article, we will deal with the concept of embarrassment.
We will also give some practical advice on how to stop thinking about that embarrassing moment from the past. That’s reason enough to keep reading.
Why Do You Keep Thinking About Embarrassing Moments?
The fear of embarrassment is deep within us and follows us from childhood.
Probably the first fears of embarrassment are related to school and school performances when we perform in public.
As teenagers, we probably don’t want to embarrass ourselves in front of cool kids and become lame.
As adults, we don’t want to embarrass ourselves on a date with that amazing person or be the target of gossip at work.
The core of embarrassment at any age is the same – the fear of the perception of others.
This fear goes so far that we not only feel bad when we embarrass ourselves, but even before that, we are afraid that it will happen to us, and the worst thing is afterward when we think about it.
Thinking about the embarrassment is often worse than when it happens.
What’s worse:
Fear of potential embarrassment before it happens? Let’s say you have a public performance and are afraid you will fail. Many would associate it with stage fright, but this is much more.
Anxiety when you remember your embarrassing moment? You really happened to embarrass yourself, and now you’re constantly replaying that event in your head.
It is difficult to say whether it is worse before or after embarrassment, but both cases can last long.
You can feel anxious for months before an important event, and you can feel embarrassed even years after it.
Excessive fear of embarrassment can be a product of or lead to social anxiety.
It can also lead to self-confidence issues and disturb an individual’s complete peace of mind.
How to Finally Stop Thinking About Embarrassing Moments? 7 Practical Methods
Thinking before or after you embarrass yourself is stressful for you.
It burdens your mind, creates insecurities, and further fears of embarrassment.
Fear of embarrassment can make you hate your past self or fear potential possibilities.
It’s time to finally stop thinking about it, and these valuable methods will help you:
1. Leave That Embarrassing Moment in The Past
Something happened that embarrassed you in front of everyone, and you keep thinking about it.
It’s time to stop worrying about something you did in the past.
“Embarrassment lasts a moment, regret lasts a lifetime”
— Avinash Wandre
And it really does seem like an eternity.
You embarrassed yourself about something in high school and still think about it as an adult.
Let that moment stay in the past, and you move on.
2. Don’t Be Too Dramatic
For everyone, his personal embarrassment is the most significant.
Often one goes too far with a feeling of shame, and it seems like that will never go away.
You continually say that that one moment of your mistake ruined your life. Isn’t that a bit excessive?
Are you the one who makes things worse than they are?
Let’s say you spilled a drink on your first date with someone special, and now you’re cringing so hard that you ruined the date.
You go so far that you often think your day is going from one embarrassing moment to another.
Aren’t you being a bit too dramatic?
Not always your every embarrassment is the worst in the world.
Cut back on the drama, and you’ll feel better.
3. Stop Assuming That Everyone Thinks About You
Even if you are a celebrity, not everyone always thinks about you.
You are not always the center of the universe; not all eyes are on you.
Unless they are extreme cases, like people who are still mentally in high school and laugh at you because you fell asleep in class and fell off your chair.
But those are exceptional cases. It would be best if you ignore them.
The good news is that everyone else quickly forgets the embarrassment of others.
It doesn’t seem like that because you know how everyone laughs together when something cringy happens to someone.
People only care about themselves, and how people think of them, so they laugh to become one with the group or to feel accepted.
And those who want you so badly to embarrass yourself are certainly not people you should spend time with.
That toxic behavior, characteristic of children, often continues into adulthood.
It is crucial to emphasize how nowadays, everyone is more afraid of embarrassment due to social networks.
Before some funny fail happens, everyone laughs at you, and it remains in the past.
It is now often documented and seems to remain forever.
This form of cyberbullying can have enormous consequences on an individual.
Like before social networks, most people will just as quickly forget your embarrassment.
What everyone shared and reposted until yesterday quickly becomes ancient history.
We can thank the fast flow of information and short attention spans for this. But that’s whole another story.
In addition to not thinking about you non-stop, most people forget things quickly.
Just ask someone if they remember any of your embarrassing moments. They have probably more or less forgotten until you remind them.
4. Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously
We know you have your own “perfect image,” which nothing can spoil.
It would be a disaster if something embarrassing happened to such a perfectionist.
It’s nice to try hard and work on yourself, but it’s essential to understand that you’re also just a human being susceptible to mistakes.
Relax a little, and everything will be easier for you.
Also, don’t worry too much about other people’s opinions.
Your life, your mistakes, and your embarrassments are your business.
5. Understand Why You Repeat Those Moments in Your Head
Are there any deeper insecurities hidden behind all the shame you feel? Probably yes.
If you’ve embarrassed yourself at work because you didn’t know or did something well, you might question whether you’re qualified for the job.
Anyone can always embarrass themselves randomly, but if you’ve been repeatedly embarrassed in the same way, it’s time to work on it.
Learn a lesson from constant embarrassment. It is the best way to improve yourself and not make the same mistakes.
Think maybe it’s good in some way because you feel embarrassed.
Of course, it’s not good to ruin your life because you’re overwhelmed by every embarrassing mistake.
But thinking about your mistakes means that you care about yourself and want to change something instead not caring about anything.
Realizing your own mistakes and embarrassment is the first step to changing that.
6. Don’t Make Things Worse Than They Already Are
Things turned out that way, and you embarrassed yourself.
Don’t make the situation worse.
You bury yourself even more profoundly in embarrassment with excessive drama and making a scene.
Don’t even apologize if you can’t do it honestly at that moment.
Sometimes it’s better to let the dust settles instead of doing something stupid under the influence of embarrassment.
Let’s say you’re drunk, and we all know all the embarrassment that goes with that.
Don’t make the situation even more awkward but listen to others and leave it for tomorrow when you’ve gotten over your hangover.
7. Do Something to Distract Yourself
Just imagine how much time you waste thinking and worrying about your embarrassing moments.
Isn’t it better to spend that time constructively, relaxed and happy?
There are many options to divert your thoughts to something positive.
Reading a book, exercising, watching a movie, listening to music, and spending time in nature are all better choices than torturing yourself by reflecting on embarrassing moments.
To Summarize
Embarrassment is caused by putting too much thought into what others think very little about.
Or if you give yourself too much importance and think everything revolves around you.
Feeling embarrassed sometimes is perfectly normal, but don’t let yourself sink into those feelings.
If you need to change some things that make you feel embarrassed, change them.
But the most important thing is to train your brain not to focus on embarrassment but on positive things. Your life will be better that way.