After making another new friend tonight I realized that the more interesting you make yourself by the things you do, the more interesting people you meet because you have more interesting things to talk about and hence, more experiences. The best way to get over fears and anxieties is just to seriously just do what you're afraid of. It's never gonna get any easier if you don't but it WILL get easier and easier when you do. You REALLY (seriously) don't have to entertain negative thoughts. The way you see the world really DOES create your world and brings more of the same.
People create their own environments for better or worse... Your thought applies to everyday situations like work... people complain about their job environment but 99% of the time the negative energy is something they started in the first place.