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But why does this happen to me?
'Cuz you're young. There are a lot of things you just don't know. You were born a certain way, your genetics made you a certain way, and your early life experiences made you a certain way. Other people, those "socially successful" people, were made differently than you. You can eventually learn whatever they know, but they have a big head start on you. Be glad that you live in the age of the internet where you can access the sum collection of human knowledge, not to mention the wisdom of thousands of horny guys, right at your fingertips through your computer. Us old farts didn't have access to such resources. We simply fell down, got up, tried again, and were miserable for many, many years.
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It affects my happiness, my sense of fulfillment, essentially everything.
I learned a long time ago that I could not predicate my happiness or success in life on a woman. It was clear that due to the accident of my birth and early life experiences, that despite much effort on my part, I was never going to be some huge ladies' man. Too much empirical evidence to the contrary, and I didn't know about anything called PUA back in the day. So, I found other ways to ground my self-esteem. Principally through personal achievements, whether art or programming or martial arts or anthropology or such. I've had an intellectual life, not a sexy life. My own intellectual standards are very very high, so unfortunately I still have issues even with that, but at least I don't feel tortured about women. More like, women are an area that I have weaknesses in. Luckily, someone came along and invented PUA meanwhile, so I really can be a ladies' man now if I really want to be. But, since my grounding in Life is elsewhere, it's never going to be core to me. Just an ingredient along the way to make me happier.
I am oriented towards history and the future. Thousands of years back, and thousands of years forwards. I know that all sex really is, is an Evolutionary trick that makes us spawn before we die. It seems very important to us, because we're genetically programmed that way and horny as hell. But it is an illusion, it has no permanence or lasting value to our existence. The reality is we will die. My belief is that when we die, there is no afterlife, that's it. The universe is cruel and uncaring in this regard, it seeks to erase us. Anything that we do will ultimately become dust.
So how do I react to that? I react by choosing how to live. I also focus on what's going to be left after me when I die. For me, that means creative works. The pyramids of Egypt won't last forever, but they've lasted many human lifetimes. We remember the exploits of Achilles, and Galileo, and Martin Luther King. Some people put value on the social legacy they leave behind. Their friends, their families, their children. The people that they shared Life with and helped set free. We could all be choosing to live a miserable, pointless existence, but we choose not to. We choose to go forth into the future together, and find happiness in our journeys together. That is the Human way. That is what is best about being Alive.
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I don't even know anymore, what to ask, what to say, what to tell you, what to pretend.
Study what's in those books. Learn what your ancestors faced. What humanity has faced. It will ground you, and make you see that you are not alone. Also live in the present. Do not study too much. You must have breathing room to grow socially. That was my biggest mistake in college. I went somewhere that worked me way too hard, and so I never grew socially. Few parties, few friends, few women. I regret it to this day, but all I can do today is work on today. I cannot go back. As you try to find yourself, try to live without regret. You will not always succeed, but you should always try.
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I go out and try my hardest to be confident, myself, but it never lasts.
You have learned that in many ways, PUA is a lie. It's like sugar. You can eat it, it will give you energy, but it will not sustain you. You need to eat other things. Sugar has its place, it will definitely help an athlete to perform, but an athlete must also build muscles and do exercises. Train
your life. Sex is only one part of life. An important part for horny males, but only one part.
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I don't know what to do anymore, or where to go, and you guys are the last place I know to turn to. I need help.
Start with whatever you already do in life that you enjoy, that you're good at, that you have some talent with, that is not about sex. Build upon that. Find value in that.