“When we allow ourselves to exist truly and fully, we sting the world with our vision and challenge it with our own ways of being.” – Thomas Moore
It’s in our nature to want to be liked and accepted. But, if you stop and think for a moment about how many people you’re surrounded with, let alone how many people currently live in the world, you’ll see that it’s impossible to like or be liked by everyone.
Because no matter who you are and what you do for a living, you can’t expect every person you encounter to like you. Maybe this sounds a little bit discouraging, but it’s the truth. Not all people are fond of you. Some may be indifferent to you, envy you, and even hate you. But, that’s the way social interactions work.
What other people think of you cannot and should not determine your worth. Their opinions, be that good or bad, have nothing to do with who you are as a person.
We are all different. Each and every one of us has different ideas, beliefs, opinions, desires, insecurities, fears, problems. So, no matter how bad you try to fit in and conform, you can’t like and be liked by everyone.
I understand how you feel. I’ve been there before myself. I was the kind of girl who tried hard to fit in. Irrespective of the social setting, I wanted others to accept and like me. I needed their approval and I worried about what they thought and said about me. And when I had different opinions from the others, I never expressed them. Instead, I kept them to myself because I didn’t want others to think I was different from them.
But, that girl is gone. I’m not anything like her anymore.
I’m no longer quiet, shy, and reserved. Now, I’m loud and temperamental. I’m open-minded and direct. I’m confident and outgoing. I embrace my true authentic self and I’m not afraid to be different from the rest.
I’m just myself.
And if you can’t deal with it, if you can’t accept me for who I am, I don’t need you in my life. You can think and say about me whatever you want, but I’ll never allow my identity and self-worth to depend on your opinions of me.
I know myself very well and when someone tries to tell me “who I really am” it sounds like a joke. I don’t need anyone to point out my weaknesses and faults. I’m already aware of them and I accept and love myself as I am.
And there’s nothing that pisses me off more than when someone who doesn’t know anything about me dares to criticize and judge me. I mean, how shallow do you have to be to judge and label someone as arrogant, stupid, lazy, immoral, and I don’t know what else?
So, let’s say this right here, right now. You may think I’m self-conceited, selfish, or weird, but hey, you know what? I don’t feel obligated to make sense to you. I’m not required to be like everybody else.
Because people like you, who judge others without knowing anything about them, don’t deserve my attention. I don’t give a damn about your misconception and disparaging comments about me because they won’t make me feel bad about myself and shatter my self-confidence.
In fact, what you think and say about me only defines the type of person you are. It reveals your true colors, your lack of identity and self-esteem, your shallowness and immaturity.
I’m not like you. I don’t judge others before I get to know them well. I don’t form opinions about them based on my own faults, insecurities, and personal issues.
I don’t give a damn about the image you have of me because I know who I am and I know my worth. I’m aware of everything that surrounds me and I’m grateful for everything life has given me. And most importantly, I know that I’m always true to myself.
I don’t care about pleasing others because I know that’s impossible. Since no matter how good you are to someone and no matter how hard you try to make them happy and be there for them when they need you, they’ll always find something about you to bitch about. Yes, few are those who know what it means to be grateful.
By not trying to please and meet other people’s expectations of me, I’m able to live my own life. I’m the one who writes the chapters of my life, not you, not anybody else.
Because I know that if I start trying to be the person others expect and want me to be, I’ll be no longer myself. I’ll feel empty and lost. I’ll stop living.
Because the more you try to be like someone else, the less worthy you feel. The harder you try to fit in, the lonelier you feel.
So, last words – I am who I am and I will always accept and love myself as such. I don’t and I’ll never give a damn about what you think of me. I’ll speak up my mind whether you like that or not.
I will live my own life the way I think is the best for me.
