If You Have This One Rare Personality Trait, You’re Way More Interesting Than Most People
People are always drawn to this type of person.
Rufina Rusakova | Pexels Psychology and health expert Tim Lee explained in a recent TikTok that he thinks the most interesting people have the rare personality trait of not caring what others think. Have you ever actually known someone who is truly unafraid of what other people think? They simply march to the beat of their own drum, and they don't concern themselves with the opinions of others.
Maybe they have a unique style, or they go for a scary new opportunity, or even if they just stand up for their values. Anything out of the "social norm" can be intimidating, but one man thinks the key to being interesting is to just not care.
The most interesting people have the rare personality trait of not caring what other people think.
Lee claimed in a recent video that no matter how confident a person is, they're automatically more interesting if they don't care about how their actions will be perceived by others.
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He said he admires people who do what's best for them, regardless of what anyone thinks. "It doesn't even matter where you are at in your life," he said. "If you have a high tolerance for social injury, you are probably an interesting person."
Lee added, "So many people in the world right now, I think, are just so drowned out in what other people think, that they just can't even figure out who they are." He thinks that we need more people who just want to be themselves.
Others agreed, even though having that mindset can be difficult.
"This takes a lot of unseen internal work, but everyone can get there. Be authentic, name your fears, get outside your comfort zone. Don’t worry about others, but don’t forget to still be a kind person with morals along the way," one user encouraged.
Another user took it a step further, saying, "What is even more impressive is when someone is aware of how they are perceived and does care but is able to ignore the concern bc they value a life well lived more than a life they control."
Putting it in a different perspective, a third user wrote, "It’s sorta easy to get there when you start framing it in easier ways to conceptualize. Would these people pay my electric bill if I was struggling? Would they pick me up at 3 am from the airport? Would I trust them to watch my dogs? If not, whatever they think or say is irrelevant to my life."
Well-being expert Tchiki Davis, Ph.D., explained, "We tend to experience self-conscious emotions when we feel we have lived up to — or failed to live up to — some expectation or ideal we have for ourselves." She went on to say, "When we're self-conscious, we constantly question ourselves — our thoughts, emotions, and actions. We need to learn to trust ourselves: Only we know who we are deep down, and it's up to us to decide how we want to live our lives."
Why is it so hard not to care what others think?
It's inherently human to care about what others think of us. Fundamentally, fitting in means surviving. Though we no longer need to fit in to get protection or resources like our ancestors did, social survival can be important, too.
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So how do we get rid of that critical voice in our head? Actually, we don't need to; we just need to replace it with a better one. Renowned neuroscientist Daniel Glaser says it's all about seeking out positive voices rather than negative ones.
He told Vogue, "The trick isn’t to not care what others think, but to care about the right people. If you’re trying to plan projects, imagine a specific person saying a really cool thing…so the trick isn’t to stop yourself thinking of other people, but to vividly conjure up someone who’s delighted with what you’ve done."
Kayla Asbach is a writer currently working on her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida. She covers relationships, psychology, self-help, pop culture, and human interest topics.
