“Lately, I’ve been wanting to take more risks in my life for scary but beneficial things, specifically approaching the person I like. But the only problem is that I get really nervous around them and wimp out on talking to them. I often will start stuttering or shaking or freaking out when I’m near them. How can I help fix this?”

-Fearfully Fearless

Dear Fearfully Fearless,

Being nervous, especially around the people that we like, is just human nature. I’ve often found that sometimes the idea of jumping out of an airplane to go skydiving is more approachable than simply speaking to someone we’re crushing on.

One thing that you need to remember is that everyone gets nervous. Maybe the person you are getting nervous over is nervous over you, as well.

The best thing you can do in these situations is to:

1: Take a deep breath.

2: Try to not focus on the fact that you may be shaking or stuttering; that will only make it worse.

3: Put on your winning smile and walk on over! The best way to overcome your fear is to face it and to be confident doing so.

4: Don’t worry about failure. If it doesn’t work out, then they don’t deserve you. Just go kick fear in the butt and talk to them!

Many people today throw around the phrase: “YOLO!” Well, this is a true “YOLO!” moment. You only get one life, so why waste any time  being afraid when you could be spending that time talking to the person you truly want to talk to the most?

Sometimes, it helps to research some really motivational songs or quotes about living life to the fullest before you approach them. Just rethink those quotes over and over again until you get the guts to do it.

As stated in We Bought a Zoo, “you know, sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just, literally, 20 seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.”