A Mindful Perspective
Welcome to my podcast! I'm Nick Levesque, and I'm on a mission to help you navigate life's challenges with a mindful perspective. Join me every week as I dive deep into the realms of mindset, spirituality, and personal growth. Drawing from my own experiences, I want to provide you with tools, strategies, insights, and inspiring stories that will help you go from where you are now, to where you want to be.
Follow me on Instagram: @nicklevesque_
Coaching: https://www.nickspiritualcoaching.com/
A Mindful Perspective
The Spotlight Effect: You Think Everyone's Watching... But Are They?
Ever found yourself sweating over what to wear for a casual outing, convinced that your fashion choice might be the evening's hot topic? Let's shatter that illusion together. I want you to join me as we navigate the quirks of the human psyche, specifically the spotlight effect. We've all felt like we're the lead actor in the grand play of life, but guess what? The audience is often too worried abou their own scripts to give us more than a passing glance.
This week, we're peeling back the layers of our self-consciousness and addressing why you're not the center of the universe—much to everyone's relief. From being gripped with fear at the thought of speaking up during a meeting to the palpitations that come with hitting 'post' on your latest Instagram post, I dissect these all-too-human moments with practical advice that provides a sense of freedom. I want you to walk away with the wisdom to own your space and your story, without an internal monologue of worry about the judgment of others.
To cap it off, we tackle Social Anxiety and the transformative power of confidence when thrust into the spotlight. By sharing my own tales and tackling common scenarios, I hope to give you the tools for a more authentic life. It's about turning the perceived spotlight into a guiding light towards personal growth and self-acceptance. So, tune in, share your thoughts, and become a part of our journey to self-awareness as we support one another in the art of just being ourselves.
Hello everyone and welcome to A Mindful Perspective. I'm your host, nick Levesque, certified Spiritual Life Coach, and I'm here to share insights into my journey of mindfulness and self-discovery. Each week, we'll explore mindset, spirituality and personal growth to help you navigate life's challenges, with practical strategies and inspiring stories. Let's dive in. Hey everyone, and welcome to another episode of Mindful Perspective. So today I want us to talk about a concept that I think impacts a lot of people, and that's the spotlight effect. So we're really going to be diving into what the spotlight effect is. We're going to be talking more about what it can do if we don't really take time to understand the spotlight effect and how it impacts us, and, of course, some tips and tricks on how to deal with the spotlight effect. So, first and foremost, let's start by defining what the spotlight effect is. Okay. So the spotlight effect essentially is a tendency to believe that other people are paying far more attention to us than they actually are, and this could be good or bad attention. Okay, it really depends on the circumstances. So, as an example, it could be maybe that you've received something and you know you need to go on stage to get your reward, and then you're like it is good attention, but you're very anxious about going. You feel like you're the center of attention, and you may not like that. So that's just an example of good attention. But let's also give a few examples of what I mean by quote unquote bad attention and it's not actually bad, but we perceive it that way. Ok, so, as an example, it could be that you're very hesitant to post something on social media because you fear that you know any slight imperfection or anything that you're posting will be judged or criticized by others. Okay, it could be spending too much time worrying about an outfit and I think a lot of us have done this at a certain point because we're concerned that others will judge or criticize our style. Okay, so just take a moment to think about this for a second right. I think this is a spotlight effect scenario that has happened to many people, myself included, and something that I think that many people can relate to.
Speaker 1:So just take a moment to think about a time where you were debating buying clothes and then, all of a sudden, your mind starts playing right. Like you see this shirt as an example and you really want to buy it. You think, oh, my goodness, this is just such a nice shirt. But then you're like well, what if I go out in public with this right? Will? Well, what if I go out in public with this right? Will people judge me for what I'm wearing? Will I get laughed at? All these different things? Right, even though you really like the shirt, you're already anticipating what it's going to be like to be in the spotlight, right, being the center of attention. Or it could be the other way around, where you know you actually buy the shirt and then you go out in public, right, so you're going out in public, maybe you're going out at the mall, and then you feel like everyone's watching. You're like, oh my goodness, maybe they don't like the shirt. Oh, my goodness, maybe the shirt is too much or it's, you know, it's too ridiculous or whatever it may be as an example.
Speaker 1:But what I'm trying to say here is this is a perfect example of the spotlight effect at play, and it's something that a lot of us go through at a certain point in time. Another time, another example here could be that you avoid participating in certain events. Okay, so maybe you've got like a team event at work or something and you don't want to play or participate in. Maybe you know your friends are going to ask you to play baseball and you really don't want to because you've never played and you're like, oh my goodness, I'm gonna suck and people are gonna laugh at me or everyone's gonna look at me, okay. Or it could even be that you're unwilling to share your opinions in a discussion or a team meeting or whatever it may be, because you're worried that others will find your ideas foolish or inadequate. So, as you can see, the spotlight effect really comes to play at a variety of different places, right? Additionally, it could be through public speaking, right, a lot of us would be afraid to do certain presentations or public speaking. Like, even think about a time in high school where you had to do a presentation in front of the class, right? I think that's a perfect example of kind of having a spotlight on us. Okay, there's different other circumstances, right. Social interactions, workplace mistakes, all these different things, okay.
Speaker 1:And oftentimes, the thing about the spotlight effect is that it's based around something we call egocentrism, okay, so basically, what that is is we are the center of our own world, okay, so people have a natural tendency to focus on their own thoughts, their own feelings, their own experiences, okay, and this is perfectly normal, by the way, right, because, again, we live in our bodies, our minds, right? So it's completely understandable that we are the center of our own world. But the problem with this becomes is that this centrality that we have, okay, sometimes what that means is that we also think that we're at the center of others' minds, right? So, basically, since we're highly aware of our own behaviors, we assume that others are as well. We assume that other people see us the way that we see ourselves, right, but the true thing is, everyone's got a different perception of us.
Speaker 1:Everyone's got a different image of ourselves in their minds, as an example, okay, now, this is really important to understand, because here's the truth, okay, and I want you to, really, if you take anything away from this episode today, it's this, okay, and I'm going to talk about this a bit later but no one is paying as much attention to you as you think. They are, okay, and there have been many studies done on this, but essentially, people are busy worrying about themselves and they're not that worried about you, and I just really want you to kind of take a moment and let that sink in, and we're going to dive into this topic a little bit later, but this is just what I mean. People are so worried about themselves that they're not always worried about you. So, even though in your mind you think that everyone else is focused on you, the truth is they're focused on themselves. They're not really paying attention to you. I'm not saying that to be disrespectful or anything right. It's just that people are not as focused on us as we think they are.
Speaker 1:And for some people, we're in situations where we're constantly worried about being under the spotlight okay. And again where we're constantly worried about being under the spotlight okay. And again, when we're constantly worried about these things, it can have several negative impacts on our overall well-being and especially our mental health as well. Right, it can increase stress and anxiety, especially in social situations. Okay, it can lead you to think that you're constantly being judged or criticized by others. It can actually lower your self-esteem because then you constantly worry about others' perceptions, right, you constantly worry about what other people might think of you, which can make you feel inadequate, or even you become overly critical of yourself. Okay, it stops you from taking action or trying new things because you fear failure. You fear that you're going to fail. You fear like, okay, what are people going to think about me if you know this doesn't go well, all these different things, right, and it can lead you to avoid social settings again due to negative judgment, and this can actually lead to isolation, because you feel like you might be the center of attention anywhere you go and you don't want to be so. Basically, you kind of isolate yourself, right.
Speaker 1:And you know, not only does this increase kind of like self-consciousness, like we talked about, right, so people become overly self-conscious and anxious about how they're perceived by others and they appear to others, but I think social anxiety is a big part of it as well. Right, we want to avoid those social situations. We want to, you know, not put ourselves in a situation which will kind of make us anxious or keep us under the spotlight, right. But when we really stop to think about that, there are many different circumstances in our lives that can kind of force us or kind of make it seem as though we are under the spotlight, right, especially with something like social anxiety. You know, if you're afraid of going somewhere because you're afraid of being the center of attention or you're afraid of other people's judgments, this is what I mean by social isolation, right? If you're constantly worried about that, you're probably not going to go anywhere because of the fear of what if that happened, or you know what if I get judged for my style or my outfit or whatever, right? So it really stops us from doing things in life because we're so anxious all the time, we're so self-conscious, and you know it can also impact our performance, right, in situations like public speaking, because then again, we fear being judged or just, honestly, it affects our overall performance.
Speaker 1:Okay, and I think honestly, from my personal opinion as well, is that if you're constantly worried about being under this spotlight, if you're constantly worried about like others are judging you, these things, I think you're not living authentically, right, because you're a part of you is going to want to make sure that you're not being judged or not, kind of, you know, being ridiculed or anything. So you might not dress the way that you really want to, because, again, you want to appear good to societal norms as an example, right, so you're not really wearing what makes you feel good. You're wearing what other people might like, that you wear type of thing, right, so you're not really wearing what makes you feel good. You're wearing what other people might like that you wear type of thing, right, so you're really just kind of, in a sense, people pleasing. You're doing it for them, not really for you, and there are so many other examples that I can give here, but I just I hope this helps paint the better picture. That also.
Speaker 1:I just think that if you're constantly worried about everything and being under that spotlight, I truly don't believe that you're living as authentically as you can, and I think this is why it's so, so, so important to put the spotlight on this topic. Pun intended, is that? Really? Because for a few reasons, right, first and foremost is that I think a lot of people aren't even aware about this topic, right, like, I made a post on Instagram about this a few days ago and I got a few people that messaged me saying, like, you know, this was a very good topic, was very informative, and they didn't know about it. Okay, so I think, first and foremost, it's very good to educate people on, you know, on this topic and knowing that this is actually a thing, but secondly, it's that I hope that other people can understand and resonate with this and really, truly understand that they are not alone.
Speaker 1:Okay, like, this is something so many people go through and it's something that I went through in a variety of different aspects in my life, especially in high school. Right, like I was the kid who was very afraid of putting my hand up in class and asking questions because the spotlight was literally on me and I was afraid of saying something stupid or saying something I thought I should have known. Right, like I was like, oh well, you know, I'm sure that everyone else knows this answer. I should know this. So I'm not going to ask because I don't want to be laughed at or ridiculed or just, you know, made fun of. Okay, so this, I think, is why it's so important.
Speaker 1:But now let's really dive into how to work through the spotlight effect. So, first and foremost, it's what we talked about earlier and I want to make this a tip and I think this again, is honestly the most important thing about this entire episode. Okay, is this the most important thing about this entire episode? Okay, is this? No one is paying as much attention to you as you quote, unquote you think they are. People are way too busy thinking about their own problems, their own lives, their own worries and anxieties and all these different things to invest that time and energy remembering your quote, unquote mistakes or failures or what you were wearing yesterday as an example. Okay, and I just want you to take a moment and think about it this way Okay, do you spend your time thinking about someone else's mistakes, their failures or what they were wearing? Ask yourself that question honestly, like probably not, so why would someone else? So this is what I mean. Okay, don't let your mind fool you into believing otherwise, because most of the time, it's absolutely not true.
Speaker 1:Okay, and let's flip this around for a second. Okay, let's say, as an example, you do a public speaking gig and you're on stage, you're talking, and maybe you make a few mistakes grammatically, or maybe you're saying a sentence that doesn't come out as well. Okay, maybe in the audience a few people will pick up on that. Okay, most people won't, but maybe a few will. And then, of course, our internal critic will be like oh, my goodness, I messed up. And you know is oh, did anyone kind of pick up on that? And then we'll start getting anxious and all these things are. But like, let's honestly take that into perspective for a moment. Okay, even if there's a crowd of 100, right, and there's 20 people that picked up on your mistake. Most people won't even care. Most people won't remember about that mistake 20 minutes from now as an example. Right, people aren't spending as much time worrying about you and your mistakes as an example as you think they are okay. So that's just what I kind of want to put into perspective here.
Speaker 1:Right, even if you go to the mall and you buy that shirt as an example that you've been wanting to wear, you wear it. You're like, okay, I'm going to do this. You start walking, like maybe you change there. You start walking, you wear that shirt and all of a sudden, you feel that spotlight on you, right, you feel like everyone is watching you. You feel like everyone is watching you.
Speaker 1:You feel like everyone might judge the shirt. Oh, what if they don't like it? What if they criticize my style? All these different things? Right? Well, first and foremost, most people won't even notice your shirt or notice you at all. Right, and I don't mean that disrespectfully, it's just people are busy doing their own things. Right? And even if there's a handful of people that see your shirt and they don't like it, do you honestly think that they're going to remember that shirt tomorrow? They might just be like oh, that's a weird shirt, I don't like that shirt. And, honestly, who cares? They won't remember that in two days or two weeks from now. People aren't worried about you as much as you think they are. And sometimes I feel like we do something and we think that people will remember that for a lifetime as an example.
Speaker 1:But again, it's like I was saying earlier, if you're really struggling with that, really think about this yourself. Do you spend your time thinking about someone else's mistakes, failures or what they were wearing? Right, you're not. Like most chances are that you're not. So if you're not, other people aren't either.
Speaker 1:And if you want to do kind of a little experiment for you as well, go to a mall. Go to a crowded place Okay, just do this. If you want to, okay, this might sound a little odd, but pay attention to others so you can see how people are not paying attention to you and how they are in their own world. Right, just go to the mall, for example. Go in consciously, being like okay, let's just kind of people watch, not in an awkward way, not in a weird way, by any means, but just observe around you. You'll notice that people are doing their own things, they're talking to others, they're doing all these different things, right? They're not paying attention to you as much as you think they are. They are in their own worlds. They're worried about their own finances, their stresses, all these different things, right? So I know I'm repeating myself, but I just really want to make this point clear.
Speaker 1:Okay, people are not paying as much attention to you as you think they are, and for me, this was a struggle for so long until I really understood this concept and I realized as I was going around, and such people really aren't right, people are busy, worried about themselves, okay. So what does this mean for you, right? Well, in my personal opinion, okay, this is what that means for you is share the post that you've been hesitant to share. Okay, wear the clothes that make you feel good. Tackle that public speaking opportunity you've been dreaming of, but you've been putting off because you don't want to, you know, because of your fear of failure or your fear of judgment of others. Okay, start the podcast or the YouTube channel you've been dreaming about. Ask that question in class that you're not sure you want to ask. Okay, go to that social event.
Speaker 1:Do the things that you've been stopping yourself from doing, because it's the only way that you'll work through this, right, a big component of working through anxiety in something like social anxiety is to expose yourself a little bit and I'll talk about that in a second but it's really to expose yourself a little bit to those things. So you don't want to stop yourself from living just because you're afraid of what ifs or possible scenarios, right? So, honestly, do the thing. Tip number two is to challenge your thoughts. Okay, and this is something we've covered in many episodes before, so I'm not going to dive too deep in here but, honestly, it's just to really question that narrative in your head, the story that you're telling yourself.
Speaker 1:Right, as an example, let's say you think, oh my goodness, you know I want to do that public speaking gig. But oh my goodness, like now your story is starting in your head, right, like the narrative's going in your mind's eye and it's saying like, oh, what if people, you know, judge me? What if I make a mistake on stage? You know what if just this does not go? Well, okay, but you can also just flip that around, right, like what if it does? Right, what if it goes better than you ever imagined? Right. What if it goes so well that it opens a door to a new opportunity that you've never had before, because you actually took the chance and did the thing right?
Speaker 1:The more you do something, the more confident you become right. Like when I started this podcast, for example, I really wasn't that confident right. It's something you build over time and it's something that I'm still building over time through each episode, through each topic that I'm talking about. Right, I feel like my confidence has kind of, you know, developed as I go. But the first episode, the first few episodes that I did, I wasn't really confident right, and in fact, this was a spotlight thing for me because I was like okay, well, like what if people judge me, what if people, et cetera. Right, and instead of just all the what ifs, I turned that around for a second. I said I told myself two things One is what if it goes better than I ever imagined? Like we just talked about right and, to be quite honest, so far it's been going great right, like I received so many messages from people and again, thank you to all the listeners. I genuinely appreciate that and to everyone supporting. I do genuinely appreciate that. But what I'm trying to say here is that I received so many messages from people saying how much the podcast was helping them and how much they enjoyed it. Right so. But if I never started, I never would have known that.
Speaker 1:And the second question I like to challenge myself with is so what? Okay, like generally and I mean this very generally right Like. So what if someone doesn't like your shirt? Right Like. So what if you make a mistake on stage? Right, you say something, you kind of butchered a word, so what? And I know that's much easier said than done, by the way, but just think about that for a second. Use that question as well. Like what if it goes better than you ever imagined? And also, so what If you're going out there and you're doing the best that you can? Or if you're going out there and you're wearing the clothes that make you feel proud that's all you can ask for, right? Then you are living authentically, you're living how you want to live, and you start to live for yourself and not other people. Okay so.
Speaker 1:Tip number two, again, is just to challenge your thoughts. Tip number three is role reversal. Okay, so, when something makes you feel like you're in the spotlight. So maybe you're thinking about a scenario where you might be in the spotlight, or you're in a specific place where you feel like you're in the spotlight, okay, think about how you would respond if the same thing happened to somebody else. So, as an example, if a friend misspoke, okay, would it be a big deal, right? If a coworker made a small mistake during a presentation, would you think much about that, right? So it's really just world over. It's putting yourself in other people's shoes and then you start realizing like, okay, you know, like, hmm, it probably won't be a big deal. So if I don't find it a big deal, then probably most people won't find it a big deal either, right? So this is what I mean sometimes just kind of seeing things from a different lens, from a different perspective, can help us realize that what we're worried about isn't something that's as bad as we make it seem, as our mind plays it to be, as an example, okay.
Speaker 1:Tip number four is exposure practice. Okay, so I think this is extremely important. So, gradually exposing yourself to situations that trigger the spotlight effect, okay. So for me personally, I'm a believer that to better manage your anxiety, to better manage your social anxiety, to better manage all these different things, right, you need to expose yourself to those specific situations more often, okay. Now, the important thing to remember here is that you start this gradually, right? You gradually expose yourself to situations that trigger that spotlight effect. So you don't need to go do a public speaking gig tomorrow, but maybe you start practicing in your room by yourself, right? Then maybe you go and maybe you, you know, you ask a colleague, hey, can I do this presentation in front of you? Or maybe you ask a family member or your roommate, like, hey, you know, I really want to do this public speaking gig. I'm really afraid of the spotlight, I'm really afraid of you know what people might think, etc. Can I practice with you? Right, and I think that's another thing as well. It's just like practice, right. The more confident you are in doing what you're doing, the better the outcome will be, regardless, right? So it's really about finding ways to expose yourself to that situation.
Speaker 1:So, as an example, like I talked about earlier, social anxiety is a big one, right? So it can really lead individuals to avoid social situations for a variety of different reasons, right? Maybe you're just nervous about meeting new people, maybe you're afraid that you know new people won't like you, all these different things there are so many different things, okay, but, like, for me personally, anxiety and social anxiety is something that's very familiar to me. It's something that I struggle with a lot. Okay, like, especially, you know, especially after COVID, I found for the first little while, because we were locked down for so long and all these different things I found that my social anxiety really skyrocketed, right, like, I noticed, like, when I was going back to the gym, like all these people, and I was just like, oh, this wave of anxiety, right, like I was very socially anxious, even going, as an example, to the grocery store, right, I was so socially anxious there was so many people and you know, I just wasn't used to kind of that sensory overload, if you will. Right, we were locked down for so long and then all these people everywhere, right, so for me it just it got me very socially anxious. But hey, like, what I told myself is like, am I going to stop going to the gym, as an example, because I'm very socially anxious? Absolutely not Okay. So what I did, obviously is I exposed myself to it more and more. I just okay.
Speaker 1:So what I did, obviously is I exposed myself to it more and more. I just, you know, I kept going to the gym as I typically would, and you know, some days I'm a bit more anxious than others. Some days I'm completely fine, it's completely normal, right, there's nothing wrong with that, um, to me, I think it's just it's about gradually exposing yourself to those things. And another place I've found myself to be very anxious is in like social gatherings, okay, like events and all these different things. Like I found that, unconsciously, I would events and all these different things. Like I found that, unconsciously, I would ask myself all these different questions, right, like how many people are going to be there, who's going to be there Until what time is this event or whatever? Right, when am I coming back home? All these different things.
Speaker 1:And it's just I realized for me that was a pattern and it was just kind of that anxiety creeping up, if you will, right, but again, the best way to overcome that, the best way to confront that, is to gradually expose yourself to it more and more. Does it mean I said yes to every event? Absolutely not, but I did make an effort, a very strong effort, to say yes to more opportunities because, honestly, there are places I just didn't want to go, right, there are places I just really didn't feel like going. It was nothing to do with anxiety, but, like, sometimes I've noticed, like, okay, like I'd love to go to this event.
Speaker 1:There's this kind of anxiety coming within me and I'm like, okay, like, and then I start asking myself these questions, right, like, is there really something going on? There's not actually a threat? Right, there's no threat, it's just a perceived threat in my mind. Right, because a lot of times, anxiety this is what it is, right. I've talked about this in many different episodes.
Speaker 1:But now our threats that trigger our anxiety are not saber-toothed tigers as they were, you know, in our ancestors' times, with their tribes and all these different things. What causes our anxiety? The body's alarm system is very small things, very different things as opposed to our ancestors, right? So this is kind of what I remind myself like, okay, my body's not actually undergoing a threat, there's no real danger here. I'm just anxious, right. And then I, you know, I talk myself into going to that thing and, you know, even though I might be a little anxious when I get there, typically I do okay, right, I do okay, and it exposes me. And that's what I mean by gradual exposure. Okay, so tip number four is really exposure practice and gradually exposing yourself to the things and situations that trigger that spotlight effect.
Speaker 1:Tip number five and this isn't really a tip, but it's just more something that I want to share but, honestly, just be yourself and live for you. Okay, you are you, you are unique and that is your superpower. Okay, don't dim your light for anyone else. Don't dim your light because you're afraid of doing something. Don't dim your light because you're afraid of, perhaps, what people might think about you and all these different things. Now, I know, trust me when I say this, that's much, much easier said than done. Right.
Speaker 1:And again, if you're someone that's really struggling with this, with the spotlight effect and you know, just constantly worried about what other people are thinking and such, sometimes, if it's too detrimental on your mental health, it could be that it's something a bit deeper, that you need to work with a therapist or coach or you know a professional to really help guide you through that and dig deeper. Right. And you know, these are things I've talked about in my coaching as well. So, if you are interested in knowing more about my coaching and what I do specifically, I do take clients. Right now I do the one-on-one coaching. I've got my Instagram and website linked in my bio if you want to take a look at that and see what I do.
Speaker 1:But I'm just being honest here, right, sometimes these things can be a little hard, but, honestly, what I'm saying here is really, once you truly realize that people are not as worried about you and are not paying as much attention to you as you think they are, it becomes very freeing, like for me personally, that's what I've experienced, right, it almost gives you that sense of freedom because you understand and I think this is something that needs to kind of click for everyone, and this is something that happened to me, right, it just kind of looked like this little switch that flipped in my mind and it was like oh my goodness, okay, wow, like people really aren't that worried about me, right, and not in a negative way, but just like honestly they're, they're not, they're worried about their stuff. And for me, that was a freeing moment, because then I was like okay, like I can start doing my things, I can start living more authentically. And it's like when I first started posting on social media, okay, I was like so anxious, right, anxious, right, like that was literally spotlight effect for me, right, it was like, oh my goodness, I'm posting, am I going to offend someone? Is this information good enough? Is this valuable to people? Will people resonate with this? All these different things, right, and I've noticed the more I posted, the less anxious I got. Okay, and does that mean that every post is going to do? Well, absolutely not.
Speaker 1:But a lot of posts that I did really resonated with people. I had so many messages from people saying like, oh my goodness, I really needed that today. Thank you so much. Like your stuff is very educational and all these different things, right, kind of like the podcast. And it just made me realize, like, okay, by sharing myself authentically, by showing up, I'm actually helping people more than I personally thought I would.
Speaker 1:Right, and sometimes this is what I mean we're our own worst inner critic and we really dim our own light. But again, maybe that YouTube channel or that post that you're hesitant to make can change many lives. Maybe you're helping people in such a way that you never thought you would have as an example. Okay, and also, the way I see it is that not everything you do in life is going to be extraordinary, right? Like, not every post you make is going to be amazing. Not every video you make or podcast you record will be amazing, right, but those are lessons to learn from that. Okay, it's like, okay, maybe this didn't resonate with people as much. That's completely okay. Not everything will, but there's also an opportunity to learn from that as well.
Speaker 1:Now, I know we talked about quite a bit today, so just a very quick recap of the steps here. Okay, so, number one no one is paying as much attention to you as you think they are. Okay, number two challenge your thoughts. So like we talked about what if this could go even better than I ever imagined? And also, so what? Right the question? So what, like we were talking about earlier tip.
Speaker 1:Number three role reversal. Putting yourself into someone else's shoes to see hey, is that actually a big deal? Number four is exposure practice, so gradually exposing yourself to certain situations that trigger that spotlight effect. And number five is simply be yourself. So, that being said, that's all I've got for you guys on today's episode. If you did like the episode, please feel free to leave a comment or review, share it. It really helps bring awareness to what I'm trying to do, which is really kind of, you know, spread this podcast on a broader scale to really help people just navigate everyday life challenges. So again, with that being said, I hope you have a good week and I will catch you guys next week. We'll be right back.
