Others' opinions

Credit Denise Linn

We all want to be liked, accepted and respected. It’s human nature. All too often we allow other people's opinions to shape who we are or who we think we should be. We cater ourselves to be what others want or expect so we will be liked and accepted. We begin to identify, or even over identify, with what others think. To have to look a certain way, to have to act a certain way, to have to be a certain way – where’s the freedom in that? It’s like putting on masks and stepping farther away from your true self all for a false sense of belonging.

It hurts when someone holds a negative opinion of you. Instead of taking it personally, which I know can be very hard, try to look at it from two different angles: 1. Someone’s opinion about you says more about them than it does about you. 2. Look at it as an opportunity to get to know who you really are. Let’s say someone calls you stupid – are you stupid just because they say so? Do you know for a 100% fact that you are, indeed, absolutely stupid? Of course not. Maybe you did or said something that was “stupid,”  so learn from it, remedy the situation and move on. It’s not who you are.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received is “It’s none of your business what anyone else thinks of you. It’s only your business what you think of you.” My life has become a lot more freeing since I started to follow that advice. I was always easily hurt when someone would say something mean about me. Now, it doesn’t get to me as much. I’m empowered because 1. What they say tells me more about them than myself. 2. It’s another opportunity for me to question my identity and get closer to the core of who I really am.

It’s beautiful and freeing to be who you truly are. Your Soul knows your authentic Essence. Meditate and connect with that aspect of you. Get to the heart of your true identity and allow that part of you to unfold in your daily life. You are not your body. You are not your mind. You are not your past. You are not your mistakes. You are not your emotions. You are not the opinions of others. You are your Soul. You are a part of the Divine. You are more than you could ever have imagined. 

Love, Adrienne :)