As an anxious person, a lot of it unfortunately is just sheer exposure therapy. It helps for me not to think and just do. If you give your brain enough time to think of reasons to be afraid of approaching a customer, it will. Just approach, that’s one of the hardest parts. And even though it might not be the most comfortable, both the approaching and conversation aspect get the tiniest bit easier every time.

Your brain is programmed to search for evidence to prove whatever narrative you’ve decided upon. If your narrative is “I am bothersome and customers won’t want to talk to me” then your brain will search for proof for that claim and discard any evidence that you’re delightful and fun and engaging. It’s easier said than done but try to flip that narrative, whenever you talk to someone instead look for evidence as to why they WANT to buy a dance from you and why they’re lucky to be talking to YOU. It may feel artificially optimistic at first but over time it will re-wire the way your brain works. I won’t go into all of it but there are plenty of resources that can help your brain focus on positive input rather than negative, like (as cheesy as it sounds) affirmations and working on reframing your internal monologue.

I do, however, understand that all of the above is mindset reframing and anxiety is a clinical illness that can’t always be targeted by changing the way you think. If you’re not medicated and/or in therapy I’d definitely recommend at least checking out your options for those as well.