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Seriously. Stop.
By Emily Blackwood — Written on Dec 06, 2021
If I could give my past (typically lame) self any advice, it would be to stop caring so damn much about what other people think.
It’s that piece of wisdom that we hear on the daily, but hardly ever decide to commit to. Even now after fully understanding all the truth behind it, I still find myself getting caught up in other people's opinions and completely forgetting about my own.
Not cool.
Sometimes we (meaning me) think we’re the center of everyone’s universe, and people all around us are very concerned with what we’re doing. They care about who we sleep with, what we wear, how we make our money, etc. It totally and completely messes with our self-esteem.
We forgo any and all say in our own lives even when no one asks us to. We give up control of the steering wheel and watch our lives pass us by while daydreaming out the window.
It’s gotta stop. We have to stop caring so much.
Life is short even if it doesn’t feel like it. You don’t know how many years, days, or even hours you have left. I know thinking about the gravity of existence is kind of a buzzkill, but it’s a crucial reminder if you want to live a full, exciting and meaningful life.
We can’t get lost in the monotony of it all. We can’t hold back on our dreams out of fear of rejection. We can’t forget to live our lives because we’re worried about what people will say.
The reality of that kind of thinking is this: the people whose opinions you’re worried about are probably not worried about you.
We’re all selfishly annoying creatures, and the only person who’s on our mind 24/7 is us. Sure we may occasionally dabble in the thought of other people’s lives, but we’re definitely not losing sleep over it. Personally, I think my record for thinking about someone other than myself is about 10 to 15 seconds.
That’s it. We’re missing out on what we really want out because of a few seconds of judgment.
So for the love of yourself and all the things you want in this life, stop caring. The beautiful thing about life is that nothing matters. And not in a nihilistic kind of way, but more like you should detach yourself from silly feelings like embarrassment and regret because there are always going to be better things to look forward to.
Stop using what other people think as an excuse to stay put.
Stop stressing over being alone or being misunderstood. Just. Stop.
The moment you start to let go of that need to impress, you open yourself up to things that could actually make you happy. Things that could color your world and give you so much life you can’t contain it.
And yes, people might talk.
But in the end, who really cares?
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Emily Blackwood is a writer who covers pop culture, true crime, dating, and relationships.