You imply that lack of confidence is the most common issue one has to fix.

What if you're introverted, intellectual and not part of the bread & circus tribe (which should be the case for some people on HN)? What does "get out" mean, then? You won't see me at a nightclub, a bar or any place made for people to socialize over inane discussions, alcohol and crap "music".

Going out mainly means going out through your door and to nice and interesting places.

That can be parks, museums, gym, hacker spaces and yes also clubs.

A new (ancient) trend, that maybe works for you, is called ecstatic dance. The basic idea is, no alcohol, no drugs, no talking (inside the main area) - just good music and dancing - till ecstasy. Expressing the language of the body. This connects people.

You are onto something here. I myself have overcome this horrible state and the no alcohol thing is pretty key, along with, some better drugs/scene & the essence of hacker spirit: curiosity. My story is a bit long, but Iam willing to share if it is of interest or possibly even of help to someone. It is a horrible state and not easily solved by someone deep in that hopeless state.

I was feeling lonely and hopeless then I read your post, saw the cure was “ecstatic dance” and lol’d, loudly. I was reminded of the episode of peep show (the great British sitcom) where the lads try out ecstatic dance. I will have to rewatch that today. I thank you for the smile and for one of the most unique loneliness cures I’ve ever read, and I’ve read many. For me the super market has been the easiest way to encounter other humans, but maybe I’ll try ecstatic dance.

When you are in a place with perhaps the most mundane music, if it gets even the least bit decent and you get up there and dance ecstatically, the band will love it.

If there are no dancers and you get up there at all the band will probably love it.

They might just not play so mundane after that.

And others who may be the least bit inspired will often get right up there with you, hesitating much less than they would have normally done.

Even if it's all by yourself.

There's a song about that, Dancing with Myself by Billy Idol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s2qZ6zc6ts

Where he basically draws the dead up onto their feet, he ecstatically blows them all away, they love him anyway and everybody ends up boogieing like zombies.

>You won't see me at a nightclub, a bar or any place made for people to socialize over inane discussions, alcohol and crap "music".

You won't see most people, they're usually hanging out socially with others they met like that or at equivalent places they prefer to gather whether or not alcohol was prominent, discussions were inane or music was crap.

Or whether there was anything like music at all.

But if there is music, you know what to do ;)

Trust me, I'm a scientist.

OTOH there's a lot to be said for striving to widen social circles using remote technology more so than direct contact. Haven't gotten around to that yet so I don't have much to add there.

EDIT added anyway: Helpful tip: It's probably better to leave your phone at home so it doesn't get broken while ecstatically dancing or anything else. People that are interested in what they see will often be understanding and more than willing to text your phone while it is still in repose back in its coffin. You can then power back up and raise the phone from the grave when the time is right. But it's well recognized that a lot of people need to raise their gaze and their fingers well above the plane of a touchscreen, to further points of interest more than they do.

"When you are in a place with perhaps the most mundane music, if it gets even the least bit decent and you get up there and dance ecstatically, the band will love it. If there are no dancers and you get up there at all the band will probably love it.

They might just not play so mundane after that.

And others who may be the least bit inspired will often get right up there with you, hesitating much less than they would have normally done."

Definitely, but it takes a lot of courage to do that. I am a very good dancer and I often was the only one dancing - and yes, the band of course loves it and usually also most other people.

But it is always a struggle to really let go and ignore all the thoughts of what others might think and just take the empty space in front of the band and go wild.

Ecstatic dance in the way I experienced it, is specially made to not have that crowd of judging outsiders and rather tries to create a safe space where everyone can just move how he or she feels like without being judged. (also phones are banned there, so no fear that someone might take a video of you, which is something that defninitely happens when dancing in public spaces).

Glad I could make you laugh. I have not seen the peep show, so no idea what was in it, or whether it has anything to do with what I know as ecstatic dance, but in either case I do recommend to go for it, if you have the chance. Worst case, you don't like it and go away. Best case, you have fun and connect with just the right people.

Every ecstatic dance I attended was different (also on different places, organised by different people) but all of them were worth it.

“Get out there” means “just pick something—anything!!—and show up.”

Go to a local gathering place (cafe, bar, church, literally wherever people hang out), look at the pinboard to find an upcoming thing to go to. Ask people what they do for fun. Whatever you do, don’t look for the “perfect” thing. It doesn’t exist, and waiting for/seeking it gets in the way of you actually meeting people.

Be curious.

Isn’t that a fundamental trait of the intellectual? Consider everything, turn over every stone?

The world is crawling with interesting people who would be your friends.

Socialization is a give-and-take; expect to give (maybe listen to some “crap music” with others) before you can take.

One more thing: it sounds like you’ve built a superiority complex. Kill that. It’s a facade you’ve built to insulate yourself. You’ll never meet others with it … or you’ll just meet other snobs.

Consider that there may be someone out at those “inane” events who feels the same as you, but is out there looking for you to show up!

Addendum: this has momentum. Once you start meeting people and feeling more confident, it won’t feel like work anymore. At that point, you may actually find yourself engaging people like your former self.

I am a loner/socially awkward and used to run a bit before 2020. Then in 2020, since we were confined I used to run close to my house. I used to see a bunch of folks regularly running but was apprehensive about approaching them. One day one of them said Hi and now I am thankful and happy to be part of that group. There are still periods when I like to run alone and avoid the group but they welcome me whenever I am ready. I am a lot happier since joining this group. More people have joined this group in last two and a half years and am good friends with some of them. I am not sure but I think the group has helped some of them with their loneliness like me. There is some sense of satisfaction when you improve your timing but a bigger source of satisfaction is when you are helping others with their running or just spending time with them. I was lucky to be found by the group and sometimes I wish we can find more people who would be interested even a little bit but are apprehensive like I was/am.

YES! Wonderful!

Two things you mention that are powerful:

1. Keep it really simple. Just show up. You don’t have to solve what happens next, or make a perfect first impression, or be a perfect person. Give yourself the same grace you would others.

2. The gratitude you feel for having found the group. Imagine how the others you’ve helped feel having found the group.

A great story—thank you for sharing.