At the beginning of my second year at uni I gave myself the simple challenge of approaching/talking to at least three strangers a day. It is really just as easy as it sounds. Not even hot girls, just three strangers every day. Sometimes it happens in an hour, sometimes I had to force myself to go out and get it done. It has helped me meet a few new friends, gain some knowledge, and generally gain important experience that we should all have. Breaking down social barriers is such a wonderful thing once you can actually get into it.

I started really noticing changes in myself when I attended a large game of Capture the Flag put on at my college. Some 300 people showed up, many of them were recently moved-in freshmen. We were split into two teams and the person in charge called for someone to grab the flag for each team. Normally, this is when I would've held back and waited for someone else to do it. Many of you reading this may have done the same thing. It's easier to do that and avoid any social pressure. Most of my instincts told me to stay put. Instead I made my way through the crowd of people all thinking the same things and grabbed my teams flag. I was instantly the leader of our team, without hardly putting in any effort or having any previous social value. From that moment on, any time I left the neutral line, a group of people followed me.

Aside from that, I've found it much easier to talk to girls around campus. "That cute girl I saw in the gym" now has a name and a personality. If my buddy sees a girl passing by and says, "she's cute", I no longer simply agree but now have the power to get out there and talk to her.

I'm not saying this to brag, but rather to encourage. Simple steps outside of our comfort zones can lead to real results. Seizing the opportunity to lead at a simple game of capture the flag put me in charge of a team of 150 people. Learning how to talk to any strangers makes it so easy to talk to the really cute girls. PUSH BOUNDARIES. Break social barriers. Think of what it is you need to practice and just start with the smallest of steps. The rewards will be much greater than you think.

TL:DR- Stop thinking, stop reading, and start doing. Take action, and no matter how simple (3 strangers a day, for example) it seems, taking action will get results.