Why you should stop worrying about what people think

Stop thinking about people’s perceptions of you. Life is short, and you never know what will happen the next minute, so why do you keep basing your decisions on what other people think. Feeling the need to overcompensate for the people you care about could stem from traumatic experiences dating back to your childhood. You probably only got attention from your primary caregivers when you did the things they asked of you. When you tried the stuff you enjoyed, they criticized you and made you feel worthless, so you discovered that pleasing the people around you earned you excellent points with them. So now, when you want to say no, you say yes instead because people would talk about how nice and understanding you are even when it comes at your expense.

I am not saying you should be inconsiderate or lack empathy, but if you keep expecting people to validate your every move so you can feel unique or worthy, you would be miserable. Everyone has the problems they are dealing with, and no one would dedicate a chapter of their life to dissecting what you do with yours. If they do that, they are sad people trying to distract themselves from the problems in their lives. Either way, it doesn’t matter; not everyone would think you are the best thing since ice cream.

If you have been living your life for others so much, so you have no sense of self, it is time to pull back and connect with yourself. Evaluate your goals and aspirations, take out anything that doesn’t serve your purpose and ignore the naysayers. Some people will hate but stay above it all. That sounded corny, but you get the point, start living for yourself. Do the things you want to do, live the way you want to; as long as it doesn’t jeopardize anybody else, it is okay. You deserve the freedom that comes with being yourself; even if some people would have one or two things to say about it, their opinions shouldn’t get in your way.

Embrace your flaws, and we’ve all got them to work on parts of you that need improving because that is a sure way and for the things you can’t fix, like the way you look or talk, own it. Your uniqueness is your greatest thing; it is okay to stand out and find your voice in a world that expects you to be like everyone else.