Many people would consider this overthinking or giving people too much emotional headspace (aka caring too much about what people think) but this is my approach as a high functioning autistic young adult trying to improve his social skills.
I would keep tabs on my social wins (answering something correctly and with vigor, talking to someone new and making a great impression, landing a joke etc.) and social losses (stuttering, awkward interactions, other people’s negative reactions towards me such as them being annoyed or them belittling me)
And by the end of the day I would take the time, maybe a half an hour or so, to analyze the interactions present and work out what I could’ve done better. It is a hurtful experience since my Ls are more than my Ws and at my current social skill level most days there are no Ws at all. I often leave the session feeling drained, but I would learn something from it and learn not to do it next time.
I’ve read Dale Carnegie’s How to win friends and influence people, there was a millionaire who would take time to write his own performance review by the end of the day. He, like me, often leave exhausted and negative so he has to pat himself on the back a little. This is what I’m doing, but I’m just too lazy to write it down
Trouble is, I don’t know how mentally healthy or viable this is in the long term, or if I’m just making a mountain out of a molehill. Most people will end their day by hanging out with friends or play video games and stuff and I’m just here stressing over my social blunders from the day
What do you guys think? I am stressing myself out too much or is this the right deal?
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