Other people? Worry not! Fear not!

We all live in some form of communities, big and small, among people. Therefore, we have no ways of avoiding people. Everyday we’re surrounded by them, at home with family, at work with colleages, at social events with friends, or on streets with strangers. As such, we hear things people say and observe how people act AND pertaining to this post’s topic – we hear things people say about us, see how people react to us, and what images they have for us.

The problem arises when we get so caught up in them and become affected. We start to worry what other people have to say about us. We live in constant worry and fear others having negative opinions and thoughts on us. We are afraid they see and label us as freaks, weirdos, geeks, clowns, jerks, or whatever social cliche out there. As this trend starts its engine in us, it escalates as we meet more people and the worry and fear keep on increasing.

Consequently, we fear to do many things and our productivity decreases, inhibited by our fear. Sometimes we even give up on striving to improve ourselves, which could make us different from the majority leading to labels and criticism. That leads me to the quote, “The greatest fear in life is fear itself.”

If we constantly worry and fear and do nothing because of that, we will always remain in the same place! If we cannot understand that and move on, we will make no progression in relationship, career, or life. Worry and fear become our greatest road blocks. It is about the realization that worrying and fear will not change reality for us, which begs the question, why the heck are we doing it? Until we can identify them, face them, and conquer them with awareness and rationalization, we will forever be bogged down.

We do not make decisions on what words come out of other people’s mouths or what they think. Consequently, we should not worry so much about what others have to say or think about us because we cannot change other people. Everyday we make decisions with the goal to make things better for ourselves and the people we care about. So rather, the decision is to change and imporove ourselves in turn, creates a character in us that will provide strong influence in the people around us, but that is not the main concern. The main concern is yourself, and the influence is just a result. Chaning other people is not the concern because that will never be guaranteed because people could simply have different experience and perspectives or they may just be jealous, and that’s too bad. That is not the concern. You have made the best decision you can to change and focus on yourself. As Jet Li said, “Do your best, it’s good enough.”

Make decisions with self in mind. And by “self,” I mean a person’s own well-being, values, and priorities that he holds true to. Stop your worry and fear due to other people! When you get yourself straight, other things will slowly become as a result.

Originally posted 2007-03-12 23:07:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter