Caring about what other people think, will never bring you joyousness. How many of your thoughts are devoted to the opinion of others? That great concern that weighs down on you everyday and night, begins from the opinions of others. Why is it that so much of our happiness is wined up in the judgement of other people? Just one insult has the ability to send you to a profound misery and a feeling of self hatred. I believe the secret to happiness is to live your life without being attached to the approval of others.As I get older, I have learned that there are many ways to live your life. Some ways that can bring happiness and other ways that just bring stress.
Life is about finding what makes you content, and eliminating those things that make you upset. Someone told me, “A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.” I used to believe, that what others think of me is the truth. For years I struggled with it.In middle school, kids my age were starting to focus on who looked the best and who wore the best clothing brand.
I used to wear neon colors. Just to be clear, my mom used to pick out my clothes. My signiture outfit would consist of a neon green smiley face shirt, neon blue jeans, and neon colored accessories. I was comfortable with my style because it was my mom who chose it for me.
At that time, I believed that neon colors were the coolest. People disliked my clothing style, but did not say anything to me. Even though they did not say anything to my face, I was able to tell by the looks they would give me.
Once I started noticing people’s odd stares, I felt conscious of my appearance. Instead of focusing on school and other important things, I was mainly stressing on what clothes I should wear. According to “The Secret to Happiness is 10 Specific Behaviors” by Benjamin Hardy, “We’ll always be stuck comparing ourselves and competing with other people.” (page 2).
This quotation shows how most people care what others think of them. By doing so, people are being distracted from living their life to the fullest and from finding happiness. Wearing designer clothing is sort of like a status symbol. A lot of kids for instance, feel they fit in better at school when they are wearing the right brand and clothing. As Benjamin Hardy noted, “How could you possibly find happiness when you relentlessly want more and never find properly appreciate what you have?” (page 4). What Hardy is asking here, is how can we focus on our happiness when we constantly worry about what others think. People mainly focus on what they do not have.
We all have one life, so why would you spend it worrying about other people’s opinions? . You probably won’t even see them in a year from now. Live your life like it’s just you, and you will finally be free to be yourself.We all have different opinions on how we should live our life and how people should act in a certain way.
Instead of wasting your time pondering about what other people think and say about you, why not spend that time improving and growing yourself. Do whatever you want, be whoever you want to be. Do not let people tell you otherwise. Just as a japanese author, Goi Nasu said, “An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship.
Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.”
