Every day is a challenge to find the strength to let go of negative thoughts others have about me. And I do it, because I don’t owe those people anything. But I do, however, owe it to myself to love who I am, regardless of outside opinions.
To be honest though, up until recently I did care about what people thought of me… a lot, actually. I used to care if people thought I was a nice person, if they thought I was smart, pretty, or compassionate.
And then one day I realized that the only people who I cared about thinking these things of me, were people I knew didn’t care. They didn’t care if I was all of these things; they were always going to see me how they wanted to, no matter how hard I tried.
I could try and try to be the person that I thought they wanted me to be, but that would never be truly enough. I will never be enough for people that don’t care about be, and neither will you. The funny thing is though, that the more they proved they didn’t care, the less I did as well.
The harsh truth is that if people truly cared about you, they would see you as you are, not some made up version of you that only suits their needs.
The times I feel the most accepted are when I’m surrounded by my family and friends. And in those moments I realized that if the people who I have known my entire life enjoy my company and believe I am a good person, why do I need validation from any other person?
If you have a group of friends or a person in your life who call you names and makes you feel worthless, newsflash— they’re not your friends, and you don’t need that negativity in your life. Friends and good people don’t put others down for the sake of lifting themselves up.
And as hard as all of this was to swallow, letting go of all the caring was the easiest thing I’ve ever done.
I officially no longer care what people think about me, because I know the people who truly care about me know me for who I am and love me just like that.
People can say anything they want about me, they can spread rumors and make up as many stories as they’d like, but that doesn’t change who I am.
I am a decent human being.
I try every day to make a difference in this world, and I have compassion for everyone. I make mistakes, but I also try to recognize and own up to them.
At the end of the day when I lay down my head to go to sleep, I will know who I am, and that I didn’t change to align with someone else’s idea of what I should be.
So, no matter what anyone else thinks, I will love myself, because I know the people who care about me love me and wouldn’t want to change me for anything.
