I know exactly where you are at, bro
I'm only just now starting to get to a place where I can approach a woman I'm interested in. I'm 28 and believe me, I have missed a lot of opportunities in my life. It was so bad for a while that I would tremble, sweat, and blush at just the thought of talking to a girl. And because I didn't date AT ALL, people thought I was gay. Seriously. I started seeing a counselor, and I've realized that I have let (yes let) fear controll me. Fear of what people thought of me, fear of rejection, fear of "bothering" the girl and looking foolish. Suddenly, I've discovered that NOT asking women out is so much more painful and damaging that having them laugh at me or even hate me. I can't controll their opinion of me, I can only controll how I act. It's a simple thing to say, but its important, at least for me, to understand what that means. That is, I allow myself to feel good that I had the nerve to ask a girl out, whether or not she says yes. I take pride in that victory. I used to hate people that said, "just ask her out dude." But what it comes down to is just that simple. So, the next time you see your girl, and you start to feel anxious, say this to your self "walking away is not worth the pain I will feel because I faild to ask her out." That pain, at least for me, is so much worse than her saying no.
