The other day when I was trying extremely hard to sneakily apply deodorant while on a public train (don’t lie, we’ve all been there) I had a thought. I was crouched in a corner, shielding myself with my coat to do something that should have left me feeling embarrassed and fearful of what anyone who saw me would think.
But then I had another thought. I'm in New York City. I'm on my way to my internship that I'm proud to have and I don't have time to worry about what other people think of me. Or to run around the Big Apple without any antiperspirant on for that matter. I will probably never see the people who were sitting next to me on the train again, and even if I do, I'd rather have them think of me as the girl applying deodorant than as the girl with sweaty underarms. It was in that moment that I realized that life is so much more enjoyable when you don’t care what other people think.
Think back to the best parts of your life. And I'm not saying that sneakily applying antiperspirant while on public transportation is one of my shining life moments. So, think back to your most memorable experiences in life. Were you hiding in your own fears of what others would think of you? I can say right now that the answer is probably no. I doubt you were worrying about anyone else except yourself and who you shared that moment with. You probably didn't care what everyone else was thinking when you asked that girl out on a date. You only cared about what she thought. You probably weren't think about everyone else when you bought that new outfit you'd been fawning over for weeks. You probably just bought it. And if you were, you should probably head back to the store right now and pick out something that actually fits instead of something that might make you fit in.
Who cares if you eat pickles straight out of the jar on Friday nights, or treat yourself to casual hookups whenever you please? There will, unfortunately, always be people who will judge you and say or think mean things about anything and everything you do. This is just an inevitable part of life. And guess what else? These people are probably worried about what you're thinking about them too.
When you stop caring about what others think, you break free from the chains of others’ thoughts. Sometimes I like to believe that I have the power to choose how others perceive me. Instead of wasting time trying to imagine what’s going on inside their head, I just make an assumption that they are thinking something lovely. Or that maybe that they’re just deciding what to eat for lunch while their eyes glaze over in my direction. Whenever you see someone looking at you with a prolonged stare, just tell yourself it's because you're having a good hair day, or they noticed the new pair of shoes you're rockin’. Or, even go as far as telling yourself that they overheard the joke you made and found it funny, so don’t be afraid to give them a friendly hello.
You ultimately control what others think of you. Make sure that they’re good ones.
