Enslaved To What People Think Of Us

“We can become enslaved to the expectations of others, losing our True Self in the process.” — Rob Bell
No matter what continent you live in. No matter what socioeconomic tribe you’re a part of. No matter what race, religion, or political party, all of us share a similar defect:
We care way too much about what people think of us.
I’ve seen this in my own life.
From zygote to about 9 months ago, my life orbited around the opinions of others. I was constantly looking over my shoulder worrying about what people were saying about me or what they thought of me or how they felt about me.
I couldn’t stand it when someone didn’t like me or when someone disagreed with me.
This obsession with pleasing people caused me to change who I was for the sake of belonging.
I substituted the life I was meant to live for a flimsy false reality conjured by my ego’s fixation with being liked and accepted and approved of.
It’s only been over the last nine months or so that I’ve realized why we obsess so much over what people think of us…
Because we don’t know ourselves.
To know one self one has to spend time with one self.
But if all of our time is spent being someone else or thinking like someone else or wanting the things that others want or doing the things that others do then we close ourselves off to the magnificence that is our real, authentic, genuine self.
Be relentless about searching out the real you.
Get to know YOUR thoughts, YOUR quirks, YOUR ideas, YOUR desires, YOUR interests, YOUR feelings.
Find joy in not being like everyone else.
It’s okay not to want what other people think you should want or how they think you should act or how they think you should manage your life.
There’s nothing wrong with not agreeing with people.
No one is going to be right all of the time. It doesn’t matter how spiritually and emotionally attuned someone may seem, that doesn’t exempt them from being wrong. And even if what they say has truth to it, it doesn’t mean that that truth applies to you and your current situation.
There’s a deeply satisfying feeling that rests in our soul when we know who we are.
When we finally understand that it’s perfectly okay to not think or desire or act or feel or believe like everyone else, all of the time.

