Like physical pain, our psychological pain is an indication of something out of equilibrium, some limitation that has been exceeded. And like our phy… - Mark Manson

Learn to go first. Introduce yourself. Ask them out. Host the event. Voice an idea. Tell people what you want.

You’ll face more rejections when things go wrong, but you’ll get all of the credit when things go right. The world rewards those who go first because so few people do.

There’s a bluntness to Russian culture that generally rubs Westerners the wrong way. Gone are the fake niceties and verbal webs of politeness. You don’t smile at strangers or pretend to like anything you don’t. In Russia, if something is stupid, you say it’s stupid. If someone is being an asshole, you tell him he’s being an asshole. If you really like someone and are having a great time, you tell her that you like her and are having a great time. It doesn’t matter if this person is your friend, a stranger, or someone you met five minutes ago on the street.

Being slapped also taught me that you can’t always control how people react to you. Some people are completely out of their minds or they behave very inappropriately. You can’t help this. You cannot control what happens in every interaction. The sooner you accept this, the better off you will be.