What Other People Think

I’d like to believe that I am my own person and that I am swayed very little by the opinions of others. But this simple is not true. Not really.

Naturally we think about what others think because it’s human nature to do so. Pre-historic humans lived in groups that were the key to their survival. If you were shunned or ostracized from the group you were as good as dead. 

Clearly this is no longer the case. In fact the opposite almost seems to be true. The more independent and original you are the more popular you may become.

However we are programmed to take other peoples opinions into account and this isn’t always a bad thing. Children have to live in their parents homes and must conform to live harmoniously. We attend schools and jobs and have to follow rules and get along. We learn what please others and that helps us survive and grow.

But sometimes living your life based on what other people think leads to unhappiness and living a life that is totally in-authentic to you. Did you become a doctor because your parents wanted you to, or the prestige it would bring you?

Prestige is simply having others think highly of you in some way. Why do you want to be rich? So you can buy fancy things. Why do you want fancy things? So people will know and think about how much money you have.

We need to get know ourselves. What do we truly want? What is important to us? We need to ask ourselves, “why do I want, need, like this”? And if we don’t like the answer, we can adjust based on our true authentic self.

Here is an example of making decisions based on what other people think.

I do not own a tulle skirt. I L.O.V.E tulle skirts. I mean, I love them. But they are not practical right? Is any other skirt really more practical? Really? It totally boils down to, “what would people think if I sported a tulle skirt on a Wednesday?”

Guess what I’m getting?