Life is hard. That is a fact. It’s hard for a lot of reasons; family, work, health, relationships, money, shit the list of life’s challenges could be a mile long. But, one of the hardest things in life is something we don’t talk about much. It’s something all of us, I mean every one of us struggle with, yet it goes largely unaddressed most of our lives. This difficulty of life we all struggle with is not giving a fuck what other people think.
Our entire lives are wrapped up in what other people think of us. From the minute we wake up in the morning and decide what clothes to wear to how we do our hair, we’re influenced by what people think.
It’s not just physical either. We censor our language, our opinions, our ideas, everything in fear of what others will think. We put so much of our lives through the, “what will others think of us filter,” that we lose who we really are.
It’s so common for people to blend in and subject themselves to what other people think that we’ve invented a phrase for those rare times when someone doesn’t care.
You know that phrase we use when someone just stops caring. When they’ve become so fed up and just lose it. You know, it’s that “I just don’t give a fuck” mode people get in. We’ve all seen it. Someone is driven to the point where they’re tired of acting, filtering, and holding back. They just go for it and let it all out! They just stop givin’ a fuck.
We need more of this in our lives. We need to be in “I don’t give a fuck” mode more often.
All of us live our lives through the lens of what other people think. It’s just who we are. Some of us are more susceptible to it than others. The problem isn’t that we care what other people think, it’s that we care too much, and we let it affect our decisions and actions too often. It’s when we let it impact our ability to live our lives and achieve the things we want that it becomes a real problem.
When that happens, and it’s happening for most of you right now, you don’t live your life for you, you’re living it for and because of everyone else and that sucks. When that happens, you’re cheating yourself.
I get it. Sticking out, being exposed, and not complying with the norms is hard. But, if we actually want to live, we must learn to embrace our own voice, our own story, our own path regardless of what others think.
We need to embrace our individualism. We need to be brave. We need to direct our lives, not be directed by them. We need to walk around with a giant; I don’t give a fuck, attitude. I am who I am, and I don’t give a shit if you don’t like me, what I say, my clothes, my car, my ideas, my hair my anything.
How much of your life goes through the what does everyone else think of me filter? Be honest, if you say none, you’re lying, and you’re full of shit. Take a deep look inside and ask yourself, when do you care most about what other people think and how does it affect your choices, your behaviors, and your attitude?
You have them; you just need to know what they are and how they affect your life.
As much of my life as I’ve built around not giving a shit, there are other parts that are major challenges. There are absolutely areas of my life that I care WAY too much what you think, and it’s not a good thing. I have to fix it, or I’m not going to get what I want out of that part of my life.
Simply put, stop giving a fuck about what other people think. Be you, be different, be your own person and LIVE IT.
It’s the hardest part of life, but if you can do it, it just make the rest of your life that much easier.