Originally Posted by MesaMan

This is mega-huge...

'It shook me for awhile, then I said "nope", I recognized that it's not reality just insecurity. No one around me even remembered my mess up, only me. My brain was looking for a way to escape, but no one wanted me to leave, just my insecure self.'

To realize that difference between the Objective Reality of the situation - that no one wanted you to leave - vs. you [or any one of us] internally reading the situation differently is no small achievement. Isolate it. Evaluate it. Deal with it. Survive it. No Cakes were harmed in the making of this Story. Or, Livers.

I used to give some pretty high level Presentations in front of High Tech Customers with Company names we'd all recognize. Early on, I'd be paranoid that I'd mucked up this-or-that detail and get all self-conscious. I could expect to get grilled on details by some seriously-smart and experienced Tech Heads or Physics types. Just like on this Forum, some Folks just had to prove how much they knew. There's one in every Crowd. Yawn. My Sales Account Pals in the Audience would tell me the opposite - that I'd nailed my Presentation - and Customers liked my 'schtick'. So, I got over it. As the old saying goes: 'Don't ever let them see you sweat'.

You're right. Your sort of confident experience positively carries into other aspects of Life.