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Caring About What Other People Think Is Okay
My recent experience overcoming shame, imposter syndrome, and feeling like I’m “not enough”
“I’ve noticed that you often seem to act based on what other people might think of you.”
A friend told me this recently and it hit me hard — probably because I don’t like the part of me that cares too much about what others think, and now, here is this person exposing that part.
Another reason why this hurt so much was that most parts of me believe that I’m a strong and confident person, and this new revelation seems to contradict that perceived identity.
So the words lingered in my awareness for days, eating at me and triggering a process of questioning and rediscovering my identity:
“Who am I if not the person I thought I was?”
“Who am I beyond what others see in me?”
“What does it mean to be authentic? Is there even such a thing?”
This made me become hyperaware of some of my specific behaviors, and I started noticing things I hadn’t noticed before.
For example, how I tend to focus on my flaws and get dragged down by them when meeting someone that I perceive as being more evolved in certain areas.
