# Asked for donuts at the GNC



## cicada (Aug 25, 2005)

I did an exercise out of the book "Dying of Embarrassment" where you make a mistake on purpose. One suggestion was to ask a store employee for something you know the store doesn't carry. I went in to GNC and asked the two employees at the register if they sold donuts. At first I was really nervous about asking, but then after I asked I almost burst out laughing. The store manager gave me a strange look and kind of chuckled and said, "This is a health food store." I had to leave right after that because I felt so ridiculous. I felt good about going through with it though. The exercise is supposed to prove to you that making a public mistake isn't the end of the world.


----------



## R4ph4el (Sep 20, 2005)

lol that's great 
next step would be asking donuts in a computer store


----------



## David1976 (Nov 8, 2003)

that's so cool... I'll have a chocolate glazed please...


----------



## salty (Mar 21, 2006)

haha that's awesome! :boogie :boogie :boogie
i'm also curious if you felt any different after doing it, definitely a cool experiment.


----------



## Babygirly (Dec 2, 2004)

:haha you saw their donut sale in the sunday paper!!!


----------



## Guest (Jul 31, 2006)

Haha thats funny :lol

Now go into a hardware store and ask for the new motorola phone that has directions and stuff, like in that commercial


----------



## archaic (Jan 16, 2006)

My friend once thought it'd be hilarious to go into a bookstore and ask if they sold books.


I talked her out of it.


----------



## TheDra (Nov 16, 2005)

I have that book also but I've never finished reading it.
I've realized making mistakes isn't the end of the world cause I've made so many and still make more everyday.


----------



## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

Cicada :boogie :boogie :boogie
I read your post this morning, and kept thinking about it throughout the day :lol It came in handy when I entered a meeting late this afternoon after not knowing where it was! :eek.

I can just imagine going into a health food store and doing that - that is really an effective technique to overcoming SA. :yes


----------



## sslhea (Sep 30, 2005)

Oooh! I want to be your partner in crime in one of these exercises cicada. Sounds like we'd be rolling in tears, laughing.
Let's go to a veternarian's office and order a vegetarian meal......."I;ll have a veggie burger!" lol (dumb, I know. It almost happened to me.) Fortunately, I reread the sign before I stepped out of my car!


----------



## Eclectic (Jan 12, 2006)

LOL! That is fantastic. My friend just came up with a brilliant idea. For males only...walk into a Victoria's Secret store and ask about male thongs. :banana


----------



## cicada (Aug 25, 2005)

Before I did the exercise, I actually did make a stupid mistake. I took my car in for an inspection and I locked my keys inside! I felt sooo embarrassed, but I had been thinking about doing the intentional mistake exercise and I thought to myself- what if I had done this on purpose. It actually did reduce the anxiety. I kept thinking of the situation as an SA exercise and it got a lot easier to deal with. This was even before I had done the actual exercise. It made me realize that my reaction was based only on how I perceived the situation. 

After I did the exercise, I felt really good about having done something I was afraid of. During the exercise it was kind of hard to look the employees in the eye, and after I asked for donuts I couldn't talk anymore due to a mixture of nervousness and trying to keep myself from bursting out in laughter. I had to leave pretty quickly. I'd like to try this exercise again, at a different store, and try to stay in the store longer after I ask my stupid question. I am going to try to do these intentional mistakes on a regular basis, so when I make a real mistake it won't be as bad. Adding a bit of amusement to someone's day isn't such a bad thing. 

PS- I dare other SAS members to give it a try! Anyone going to take me up on this? Some of the other mistakes suggested are: leaving your fly unzipped, tripping in front of someone, ordering something that isn't on the menu, approaching and almost entering the door of a restroom for the opposite sex( I actually entered the restroom of the opposite sex not too long ago and it WASN'T on purpose!) There are others, or you can get creative and think of your own.


----------



## GraceLikeRain (Nov 9, 2003)

Good job! 



cicada said:


> PS- I dare other SAS members to give it a try! Anyone going to take me up on this?


I'll try :hide


----------



## btnh_are_the_sheet (Jul 26, 2006)

archaic said:


> My friend once thought it'd be hilarious to go into a bookstore and ask if they sold books.
> 
> I talked her out of it.


lol, funny


----------



## My_Shrink (Jun 27, 2006)

Maybe you could go into a fancy coffee-shop and ask for a "coffee". 

They probably wont know what it is...


----------



## Inturmal (Jan 15, 2006)

Someone told me they asked for pie at RadioShack. :lol


----------



## Chewie33 (Apr 4, 2006)

archaic said:


> My friend once thought it'd be hilarious to go into a bookstore and ask if they sold books.


or even better, go into a bookstore and ask if they have a book called "how to cope with rejection without killing".


----------



## Chewie33 (Apr 4, 2006)

...


----------



## ate16am (Dec 23, 2005)

:lol Good for you! I've done things like that with friends, whether I was dared or just to be funny (at least I thought I was being funny). This is kind of embarrassing, but something that makes it easier for me is to pretend that you're on a hidden-camera show. Have you ever seen that show where people try to get fired? I don't know if it's still on, but there are usually 2 people who are set up with 2 different jobs, and there are hidden cameras. The managers on duty aren't aware of the joke, but the people have to try to get fired, without doing anything illegal like stealing from the cash register, and the first one to get fired wins money or something. I saw one where this girl worked at a pizza place, and she kept eating the toppings right out of the containers, and even off of people's pizzas, and coughing over people's food, and stuff like that. Anyway, my point is that's what I think about whenever I feel courageous enough to do something like that.


----------



## GaryUranga (Apr 22, 2006)

Im going to copy this, I do things like this too, suits my kind of humour


----------



## TheContrary (May 2, 2006)

My_Shrink said:


> Maybe you could go into a fancy coffee-shop and ask for a "coffee".
> 
> They probably wont know what it is...


im gonna do that one. i bet old people unfamiliar with the rise of cafe culture do it all the time. itd be really wierd hearing a person young as myself be so ignornant


----------



## lyssado707 (Oct 29, 2004)

:lol Or why not order a hamburger and fries at a chinese place.


----------



## earthgirl7 (Aug 7, 2006)

Never heard of this technique, sounds really interesting. Funny that you had to leave partly due to not being able to restrain yourself from bursting out with laughter, haha. Maybe I'll try to force myself to do something like that..


----------



## bubblepop15 (Jan 25, 2006)

I almost did this today at the local GNC lol!

My friend told me to after I told her how it's supposed to work.

We went to Williams Sonoma and tried to not break anything, instead.


----------

