My boys were super excited about going to their first Little League training clinic and unbeknownst to either my wife or me, they didn't separate the groups by age or skill levels, just a bunch of humanity thrown together for a common purpose.  After 45 minutes or so of throwing, catching, batting, etc., with kids who'd been playing much longer I saw my younger son, enthusiasm gone, standing and crying in a sea of young boys who were all running around him and tossing a ball.  When my wife reached him he said through his snuffles that this was all very 'confusing' and he just wanted to stop and sit out.   

Sound or feel familiar?  

New interview/employment opportunity presents itself, you're all excited and then after matching skills and abilities with those who've been there longer or competing against those who seem to want it as much as you do (seriously hoping you made it more than 45 minutes) it seems crazy overwhelming, too challenging or too 'confusing' and you feel like you need a good cry.  

My wife and another mom tried comforting my son, encouraging him to get back in and play with the other boys but he wasn't having any of it and had decided to watch from the side.  I took my son a little ways away to talk and after a minute he went running back into the melee with the other boys and after a couple more minutes was laughing again.  My wife and the other mom wanted to know how I was able to get him to change his mind. 

Confusion is scary and life can be intimidating at any age, but scary usually doesn't hurt and the world likely won't hug it out for you.  "Do you want to do this and, if so, how badly?  You can either get back in the game, focus on learning some new things, meeting some new people and having some fun, or we can go sit in the car until it's over. Watching from the side isn't an option"...vinny