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6/10/10

Who Cares?

I've been thinking a lot lately. 

I've realized that I think too much about what other people think. I'm learning not to - but I still freak out about what others think. Here's some of my thought processes:

If I wear high heels I think - "Are people going to think I'm stupid for wearing heels? Am I too fat to wear heels?"

If I put candy in my grocery cart I think - "Who's watching? Are they laughing?"

If I run I think - "Who's waiting for me to get a black eye? Are they watching?"

If I play in the park with my son I think - "Who's waiting for the swings to break?"

So I got to thinking about what everyone else thinks. And I see that I need to not care. (still following me?) There have been a lot of people who don't care what people think. 
Like this:

What if Michael Jackson was too afraid to introduce the idea of a concept music video?
 We wouldn't have Thriller.

What if George Lucas was unsure of his intergalactic space stories?
No Star Wars.

What if John Lennon hadn't been confident enough to start a band?
There would have been no Beatles.

These people changed our worlds. Our Music. Our Movies. We wouldn't be who we are today if it wasn't for them. So I have to ask myself - what can I change simply by being who I really am? Lady GaGa is dresses like an escaped lunatic, Marilyn Monroe looked like a floozy most of the time, and Elvis wore white jumpsuits and curled his lip. 

They didn't care. Why should I?

12 comments:

Happy Fun Pants said...

AMEN!

And also? I heard a quote that went something like, "People wouldn't worry so much about what people thought of them if they actually realized how little they spent thinking about them."

Or something like it. Work with me here.

What I'm trying to say is that I get what you're saying and I think that the root of where all that self-doubt comes from is from us not loving ourselves and not being confident.

And really? Very few people actually give two craps about what we're doing. They're too busy thinking about what everyone else might be thinking about them.

Heather, aka: Big Auntie said...

Excellent post! And I agree with HFP; we torture ourselves unnecessarily, and it doesn't burn any calories.

PS - thanks for listing me in your favs!

Mom to the Fourth Power said...

Well stated. You shouldn't care! Seize the day and enjoy life. No one ever erected a statue to a critic (I tell this to my kids, but need to remember it myself)

~Margene
http://www.believingitspossible.blogspot.com/

Wavylove said...

I use to struggle a lot with worrying about what other people must be thinking of me whilst doing normal activities. Now, just to prove to myself I don't care, on a busy day at the grocery store I make sure to bust a move to one of the 80's tunes playing over the loud speakers. And you know what? No one cares. Sometimes no one even looks at me.

Truly most people are so caught up in their own lives, they couldn't be bothered to think about you. My advice "You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm and a smile!" *hugs*

Natalia said...

So true! One of my favorite sayings is: "What other people think of me is none of my business!" I tell myself that when I start getting into that zone and I'm all concerned about other people!

Dardrian said...

I really need to work on this as well.

The Fat Foreigner said...

Hells Yeah!

P.S. I totally do that in supermarkets too! Except as the only obvious Westerner in the area people usually do check out what's in my basket. Is it truely paranois if they really are watching? O.o

Traci said...

So true!!!

Lori said...

Amen Girl! And like Robin Williams said in Aladdin "BEEE yourself" Great post!

4athomej said...

I think that's one of the hardest mind sets to get out of though. I was brought up with my mom always saying "What will the neighbors think?", "You can't wear that, what will people think?" Stuff like that was said all the time so you grow up thinking about what people think when they see you...It took a lot but most of the time I don't care but there's still those odd times when it enters my head. Maybe it will always be lurking, behind that door that's always open a crack...no matter how hard we try and shut it...

karen said...

Yet another freakin kickass post.
I swear if you were a man I'd be crushing.
LOL!

MB said...

Be your own rock star!