Don’t Let the Opinions of Others Define You
“Someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.” — Les Brown
It’s hard not to let the opinions of others affect you. Yet, far too often we let what other people think dictate our actions and define who we are.
From a young age, we learn the importance of fitting in and feel the need to belong within a certain group of individuals or within a certain social class. Most often, this leads us to caring way too much about what others think.
How people perceive you (or simply how you believe people perceive you) can shape who you are in many ways. I’ve always thought that others viewed me as being shy and not very social, and that led me to putting even more pressure and stress on myself when being in social situations. Believing that people thought I was shy led me to not wanting to speak or be outgoing. I accepted these external opinions as fact and they caused me to behave in accordance with them.
In other words, the opinions of others became my reality.
Everyone wants to be accepted by their peers. It’s only natural to want to fit in and feel as if you belong. But the people that you associate with shouldn’t judge you for being who you are. And you shouldn’t let any of those judgements define you.
Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality.
This is day #15 on my 30 Day Challenge to improve my writing. Thanks for reading!
