Bury That Worry

Happy Fri-yay and Day 3 of "Glow In 2015'

 If you are new here and haven't read days 1 & 2, you can go back and get caught up! Today I want to talk about worrying what others think about you. This is common for the human species but as common as it may be, it is still completely unhealthy. Worry can cause serious health problems and not only that, it takes our focus away from the people and the things that make us happy.

I'm going to lay out some ways we can focus less on what others may be saying or thinking about us and focus more on how we can tune those negative things out and say 'BYE FELICIA' before the new year.

For me, an important part of new year's resolutions is to let go of the past. Let go of everyone and everything that no longer serves you or has a purpose in your life. This includes those people who may have not been the nicest to you. These people can be family, friends, ex friends, colleagues, even people you don't even personally know. The key here is to stop focusing all of your energy on worrying about what is being said and focus that energy on bettering yourself. See, what most people do not realize is this. When you let someone get you upset, mad, or unhappy, you are giving this person (or thing) complete power over you. We have to understand that in order to have complete mind/body/soul balance we have to be completely aware of our feelings. If you are in a situation that is unsettling then you need to take a step back and ask yourself how you feel. If you are feeling bad then take a few deep breaths, ask yourself if whatever it is - is worth it and if it's not you HAVE to brush it off and move on.

I want everyone to remember this. If you have to read this over and over again until it really 'clicks' and your mind goes 'Ok, I'm taking the reigns and I'm not letting anyone or anything have control over my feelings!'

"Fear of social judgment also makes people think small. Accomplishing anything big is going to annoy some people, who will try to deter you. To really have an impact, you can’t let them get in your way. EVER!"

When you stop trying to impress others, you can express yourself in a more open and genuine way. You will be able to fully connect with people more openly and on a personal level. The less time and energy you spend on caring what sally said to sue and what sue said to peter, that's more energy you are saving on making your life more about what makes you happy!

Just a few tips to consider:

A. Bring awareness to how your decisions are currently affected by what others will think of you.

B. Do not be swayed into social pressure! EVER! I'm sure we all know that feeling of doing something we really don't want to and guess what? We regret it later. Not a good way to feel. Try keeping yourself unaffected by criticism and stop taking things so personal. We can become biased toward sensitivity to rejection and insults. When we let criticism and embarrassment affect our behavior, we are giving our power to others!

C. Don’t look to others for guidance on how to behave. You must always be yourself. No matter what! Don’t wait for permission from others.

D. Last but not least: DO NOT BE NEEDY for attention! You don’t have a reason to try to impress people. Remember we are doing this to better ourselves and our lives, not for others entertainment! That's the quickest way to criticism city!

Basically, it's as simple as this. Always be authentic with who you are. Courage up and allow people to see the real you. Be willing to be judged and sometimes even encourage it. It’s good for developing thick skin. Especially for those whose work may be social media based! As you become and express your true self, others will think great things about you, and the few that don’t, well that doesn't really matter. Rather than not caring at all what others think of you, you can start just by caring less. It gets easier with time. So, be open to what they think and feel, and consider their opinions, BUT take it with a grain of salt and decide for yourself how to act. Only care what the important people in your life think, but also, only those whose opinions you value. Strangers should not and DO NOT get a vote in how you live your life. Don't be that person.

Light + Love,

Courtney ♥