ivlvs_veridivs
New Member
Well, I guess this is the best time for me to start doing this.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been reading The Book of Pook, and I'm almost finished with it. Somewhere along the way, something clicked in my mind. I reached a point where I felt enough was enough. I needed to stop overthinking, embrace my sexuality, embrace my masculinity, and start approaching women.
In fact, I was even thinking about making a bet with a female friend of mine (a long-distance friend): if I didn't approach any women, I'd have to send her money.
The Book of Pook really opened my eyes. It helped me throw away a lot of the pickup material from PUAs that I had consumed over the years. That stuff always made me feel robotic, overly calculated, and obsessed with playing it safe because, deep down, I believed I wasn't enough, and I needed some magic tactic.
This book shifted something inside me. It made me realize that if I'm already doing my best (working hard, staying healthy, exercising, pursuing hobbies, reading, studying, and trying to be a virtuous person) then I shouldn't keep acting as if something is missing. I should simply approach.
Perfect is boring.
So I'm happy to begin this journal with a field report that ended in a number close.
This happened today.
I took my dog out for a walk around the time I knew people would be outside. Lately I've been making an effort to become more social in general. I was also hoping to see a girl (jogging girl) I'd noticed the day before.
Sure enough, she was there.
The problem was that she was jogging with her headphones on. It didn't feel right to interrupt someone who's focused on finishing her workout, so I kept walking. My plan was to wait until she finished jogging and took her headphones off before deciding whether to approach.
After a while, another girl caught my attention. She was walking three dogs.
I figured this was a great opportunity to socialize, have fun, and, if the jogging girl happened to notice, it would naturally create some social proof. Win-win.
Approaching was easy because my Chihuahua did about 50% of the work. The dogs immediately started sniffing each other, and my mind went blank for a second.
What the hell do I even say?
Watching my dog confidently walk up to other dogs reminded me how natural approaching is for animals. Why shouldn't it be natural for me? I also remembered one of Pook's recurring ideas "Oh la la."
So I stopped trying to control everything.
I started talking about the dogs, but something felt different this time. I felt genuinely confident. It was almost like I told myself:
"**** it. I'll let my testosterone do its job. I'll stop trying to script every sentence and just trust myself."
It honestly felt like switching on autopilot.
By this point, the jogging girl had finished and was walking nearby. I'm pretty sure she saw me having a great conversation with the girl and her three dogs.
Funny enough, after a while I completely forgot about the jogging girl.
Time flew by.
I'd say she did about 80% of the talking while I led the conversation by asking questions, teasing her here and there, and simply enjoying myself. At one point she started playing with her hair. I moved a little closer and asked a few questions about what she does for fun and her life, partly to figure out whether she had a boyfriend or was married. The girl might have got bitten by an ant I think, and never said goodbye.
She even started making playful future projections about us hanging out.
Eventually I knew I had to go for the number.
I'm not going to lie, I felt nervous.
Then I caught myself.
"Scared of what? Having the balls to show you're attracted to her? Getting rejected? Are you really going to go home feeling like a *****?"
So I went for it.
Before that we'd already exchanged names. Then I said:
"You know what? I think it'd be fun to hang out sometime. When are you free?"
She smiled and told me she was free this weekend and didn't have any plans.
So I pulled out my phone and said:
"Perfect. What's your number so we can set something up?"
She walked over next to me and dictated her number. Since she didn't have her phone with her, I gave her a quick call so she'd have mine. We said goodbye, and I headed home.
A few minutes after I got home, she called me back. I answered, joked that now we both had each other's numbers, and we said goodbye again. I also sent her a quick text with a sticker of my dog.
Looking back, I honestly couldn't even tell you all the topics we talked about.
Time just disappeared.
What I do remember is that I spoke slowly, maintained eye contact, smiled often, and felt completely comfortable in my own skin.
That, more than getting the number itself, feels like the biggest win.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been reading The Book of Pook, and I'm almost finished with it. Somewhere along the way, something clicked in my mind. I reached a point where I felt enough was enough. I needed to stop overthinking, embrace my sexuality, embrace my masculinity, and start approaching women.
In fact, I was even thinking about making a bet with a female friend of mine (a long-distance friend): if I didn't approach any women, I'd have to send her money.
The Book of Pook really opened my eyes. It helped me throw away a lot of the pickup material from PUAs that I had consumed over the years. That stuff always made me feel robotic, overly calculated, and obsessed with playing it safe because, deep down, I believed I wasn't enough, and I needed some magic tactic.
This book shifted something inside me. It made me realize that if I'm already doing my best (working hard, staying healthy, exercising, pursuing hobbies, reading, studying, and trying to be a virtuous person) then I shouldn't keep acting as if something is missing. I should simply approach.
Perfect is boring.
So I'm happy to begin this journal with a field report that ended in a number close.
This happened today.
I took my dog out for a walk around the time I knew people would be outside. Lately I've been making an effort to become more social in general. I was also hoping to see a girl (jogging girl) I'd noticed the day before.
Sure enough, she was there.
The problem was that she was jogging with her headphones on. It didn't feel right to interrupt someone who's focused on finishing her workout, so I kept walking. My plan was to wait until she finished jogging and took her headphones off before deciding whether to approach.
After a while, another girl caught my attention. She was walking three dogs.
I figured this was a great opportunity to socialize, have fun, and, if the jogging girl happened to notice, it would naturally create some social proof. Win-win.
Approaching was easy because my Chihuahua did about 50% of the work. The dogs immediately started sniffing each other, and my mind went blank for a second.
What the hell do I even say?
Watching my dog confidently walk up to other dogs reminded me how natural approaching is for animals. Why shouldn't it be natural for me? I also remembered one of Pook's recurring ideas "Oh la la."
So I stopped trying to control everything.
I started talking about the dogs, but something felt different this time. I felt genuinely confident. It was almost like I told myself:
"**** it. I'll let my testosterone do its job. I'll stop trying to script every sentence and just trust myself."
It honestly felt like switching on autopilot.
By this point, the jogging girl had finished and was walking nearby. I'm pretty sure she saw me having a great conversation with the girl and her three dogs.
Funny enough, after a while I completely forgot about the jogging girl.
Time flew by.
I'd say she did about 80% of the talking while I led the conversation by asking questions, teasing her here and there, and simply enjoying myself. At one point she started playing with her hair. I moved a little closer and asked a few questions about what she does for fun and her life, partly to figure out whether she had a boyfriend or was married. The girl might have got bitten by an ant I think, and never said goodbye.
She even started making playful future projections about us hanging out.
Eventually I knew I had to go for the number.
I'm not going to lie, I felt nervous.
Then I caught myself.
"Scared of what? Having the balls to show you're attracted to her? Getting rejected? Are you really going to go home feeling like a *****?"
So I went for it.
Before that we'd already exchanged names. Then I said:
"You know what? I think it'd be fun to hang out sometime. When are you free?"
She smiled and told me she was free this weekend and didn't have any plans.
So I pulled out my phone and said:
"Perfect. What's your number so we can set something up?"
She walked over next to me and dictated her number. Since she didn't have her phone with her, I gave her a quick call so she'd have mine. We said goodbye, and I headed home.
A few minutes after I got home, she called me back. I answered, joked that now we both had each other's numbers, and we said goodbye again. I also sent her a quick text with a sticker of my dog.
Looking back, I honestly couldn't even tell you all the topics we talked about.
Time just disappeared.
What I do remember is that I spoke slowly, maintained eye contact, smiled often, and felt completely comfortable in my own skin.
That, more than getting the number itself, feels like the biggest win.
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