In the end, people will judge you anyway. So don’t live your life impressing others, live life impressing yourself.
In the end, people will judge you anyway. So don’t live your life impressing others, live life impressing yourself.
How often do we find ourselves living our lives continuously taking into consideration what other people are going to think about the decisions that we are making?
It has always been a consideration in a small community, because everyone knows everyone else’s business. So the opportunity to shield decisions of magnitude from others was nearly impossible. As we evolved into larger cities, people were more capable of maintaining a certain degree of anonymity.
And then along came social media. In the world of social media, something takes place on one side of the planet and the other side of the planet is reacting in milliseconds. The fishbowl quality of the small community is massively amplified by the ability for so many people to judge what others are doing.
We all seek a certain degree of social acceptance. Most of this is accomplished by fitting into the norm and staying within specific parameters, with the expectation that in the course of staying within those parameters, we will not be relegated to an outcast position, predicated upon what others collectively judge is appropriate.
I would argue that while it is important to stay within a certain percentage of societal norms, it is equally important to find your own strength and your own position within society and to de-regulate your own internal governance, such that you are able to fully express that which is uniquely you. How else would we come upon a Picasso, Salvador Dali, Prince or any other absolutely unique human being?
It is only in the course of those individuals having opted to free themselves from replicating what has already transpired that the unique qualities were cultivated. By enabling themselves to move forward in a direction that only they, themselves can envision, they were able to achieve that level of personal expression.
At the end of the day, I assure you that you will not impress everyone and that you will always have your share of detractors. That is just the way life works. Far more important, in my opinion, is the ability to impress yourself… to be able to look into the mirror and acknowledge that what you are doing completely reflects all that you would like to see yourself doing and achieving in life.
If you study the greatest successes in humanity you will find this one quality common amongst all of them. They were truly renegades by societal standards in their time. Eventually their brilliance will ultimately create the greater new standard for everyone else to live up to, or surpass, as time moves on.
Take the time in life to really determine that which will impress you, and set your sights high enough that you will achieve it through your diligence, perseverance and dedication.
Happy Thursday!
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