How do I stop putting women on a pedestal when meeting them?
I have an annoying problem when meeting women that comes back to my sense of self-worth and overall perspectives of people. For me in most ways, women are just better people. More empathetic, better quality friends, more well rounded people (socially, fashionable, hobbies, careers, values, etc) when comparing to the men I know in my life (26 M, from US but living in Germany).
I know I’m making broad generalizations but I get this intimidation factor and feel like I’m not worth enough to approach them. I am pretty happy with myself - I have a career, friends, hobbies, average attractiveness - but deep down I feel like I don’t offer enough. Also I have a limiting belief that women likely hate, are fearful of, or just generally look down on men - and I don’t want to bother them.
Has anyone else overcome something like this or have any tips for breaking out of these belief patterns? I’d like to get back my confidence and just treat everyone as individuals regardless of how they intimidate me.
Posted Sep 8, 2026, 11:50 AM UTC