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Man... I'll give you this. You do seem to really want to change. You do not seem to know how to change OR fully believe that change is possible. But at least you're one step down the long road. I'll admit right now that, yes, part of this response is serving my own ego. We all get some ego gratification out of helping others, and really I don't know you, so it's not because I care about you like you're my friend or anything... let's be honest. And maybe part of it is that I do care on some level because you're a human being, too. (high five! instant rapport! lol)
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1) How to be alpha without being a dickhead or projecting a negative energy. OR how to just not care and be completely hilarious and absurd towards anyone who tries to project me as a dickhead so that they just accept me for who I am and like being around me.
Here's a twist: Do you worry about acting "alpha" in social situations? Do you base your behavior upon your perceptions of what other people think of you? Does it bother you when people don't seem to like you, even strangers you just met?
First, you have to accept the facts -- kinda like the burn scene in Fight Club -- you must understand that people WILL HATE YOU, not maybe, they WILL... lots of them, and many for NO good reason at all.
Just like the fact that you will die, nothing, NOTHING will change that fact. So learn to live with it. Life is too short to live and die by others' opinions.
Now, the problem. Being interested in others' perceptions of you is an issue of egoic reflection. What you need to do is become genuinely interested in other people! NOT their opinions, their clothes, their style, their taste in music, or even what they think of you. Become interested in WHO they are... which is HOW they are. Ever been with one or more person really having a great time, and someone starts laughing setting off a chain reaction, and eventually you can't even look at each other without cracking up...? Become interested in people like that.
As mentioned by Fin, How to Win Friends and Influence People is a great book. Even further, I recommend A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, especially chapters on your and others' Pain Bodies.
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2) How to not care about what people think while still putting them in their place in a way that's fun for them, especially since many girls and dudes alike seem to appreciate this style of back and forth communication. I'm pretty descent with it but too often it actually ends up being a step back in our relationship rather than a step forward. I need to water things down a bit more I think.
Why do you need to put people "in their place"? If this is a hidden reason behind someone kidding around with people, it's no wonder people don't like to joke around with that someone. Teasing, joking, kidding -- done right they are just that. Using humor as a vehicle for judgment is not only destructive to others, but also to the self.
This is where letting go comes in. Being "right" or "proving" one's self often comes at too high a price.
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3) Things I can do in the first place to not cause people to project negative behaviors onto me. What it is I may be doing to ASK for this sort of thing out of the gate even though I accept people at face value at first I guess I don't do enough to project that I am someone they should take seriously or try to befriend.
Stop worrying about THEIR perception of you, and start paying attention to your perception of them. In fact, forget your "perception" -- just see/hear/feel what's there. Be in the moment, not lost in worrysome thought. Peace is Every Step and Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior are good books along this line. They're based in mindfulness or meditation, which is probably not really what you think it means. For your own sake, reserve judgment and give it a shot.
Warning: You will not like this. Read it and deal with it, or just skip over this section if it will honestly kill you dead in your chair.
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My father and mother had a disfunctional relationship and it was violent... remarried... overbearing and toxic... against me... growing up... boundaries or how to handle myself... avoid conflict... drink beers... I had no real place to turn... no real masculine influence... cool kids... partying and drinking... several career failures... various ONS and manipulative relationships... anxieties... potential harm and don't fully trust them... floodgates open... submit to them and make myself vulnerable... ignore everything and try to pretend our relationship is fine.
I'm sorry to say this, because no ego likes hearing it (even my own), but NO ONE in life really cares about anyone else's story. Especially if it's used as a justification for whey they "are they way they are".
You need to know that your story, your past, your history does not define who you are as a human being today. Not to say that it hasn't had influence over your mind, but you are not your past. You are not your future. You are who you are right now. And you have every option currently at your disposal to use to your advantage. Nothing more, nothing less.
Get over your past. Stop worrying about your future. Live. Right. Now.
Maybe this won't resonate the right way... Maybe you're not ready yet. I'm just trying to reach out because some of the behaviors you exhibit are very familiar to me, embarrassing as it is to say. Goes to show you that people can and do change.
I hope you read some of what was recommended, by myself and others... and if some of it comes off as too new age / spacey / spiritual, give some Tony Robbins audio books a try.
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