What Do YOU Think?

Day 181

“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”

– John Lydgate

We all do it – worry about what others think of us. I do. I know you do too. It’s natural. The thing is, I’ve learned that it doesn’t really matter what others think at the end of the day, because as John Lydgate said in the quote above, you can’t please all of the people all of the time.

So, I say, just focus on your own happiness, and everything else will take care of itself because when you follow your bliss, your light shines, and when your light shines, you vibrate positive energy, and when you send out positive vibes, you attract and spread more joy.

And isn’t that what we want when we worry about what others think in the first place? To be happy, for others to love and appreciate us, to feel joy.

The easiest and most effective way to spread joy is to be yourself, do what you love, and let your light shine.

Sometimes we lose focus of what our goals and dreams are because we get caught up in the expectations of others, or we’re too concerned about making everyone else happy, or we think it’s the “right thing” to do.

I was going to write about tuning in to your inner guidance, and tell you not to worry about what others think. I was going to talk about how sometimes I write a post that I think is amazing, and it doesn’t get much traction, and other times I write something I think is just ok, and people love it. Then every once in a while, the stars are aligned just right and I hit it out of the park, and a post that I think is my best work is acknowledged as such by my audience.

I was going to share with you how grateful I am whenever my writing is appreciated, and even more ecstatic when it inspires others, but I’ve found that no matter what reception I receive, it doesn’t change my opinion about my work – I still like the pieces I like, regardless of how they are perceived. What I think of my writing is what makes me feel good. Then, I came across all these amazing quotes that say the same thing, so I decided to share the words of these accomplished individuals, and let them do the heavy lifting for me.

Blog Beats: Get Up Stand Up by Bob Marley & The Wailers

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.” – Albert Einstein

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs

“Some people say you are going the wrong way, when it’s simply a way of your own.” – Angelina Jolie

“I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t think about you at all.” – Coco Chanel

“There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.” – Marianne Williamson

“Believe in yourself and there will come a day when others will have no choice but to believe with you.” – Cynthia Kersey

“No name-calling truly bites deep unless, in some dark part of us, we believe it. If we are confident enough then it is just noise.” – Laurell K. Hamilton

“The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages.” – Virginia Woolf

“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.” – Lao Tzu

“I do not care so much what I am to others as I care what I am to myself.” – Michel de Montaigne

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss

“You probably wouldn’t worry about what people think of you if you could know how seldom they do.” – Olin Miller

“There is nothing more attractive than confidence, once she sees her own beauty, everyone else will.” – Habeeb Akande

“Few and mean as my gifts may be, I actually am, and do not need for my own assurance or the assurance of my fellows any secondary testimony.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“People who repeatedly attack your confidence and self-esteem are quite aware of your potential, even if you are not.” – Wayne Gerard Trotman

“So many people along the way, whatever it is you aspire to do, will tell you it can’t be done. But it all it takes is imagination. You dream. You plan. You reach.” – Michael Phelps

“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” – Aristotle

“One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.” – Sigmund Freud

Don’t worry about what people think, or say or how they react to you. Look within, have faith in yourself, be who you are, and do what you love, and keep going. Let your light shine.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!