When it comes to being gossiped about, people generally lie on a spectrum ranging from blatant indifference to outright horror. The older that I get, the more that I start to lean towards blatant indifference and here are six reasons why.
1. I wouldn't want to be friends with someone judgmental in the first place.
Would you really want to be friends with someone who judges you over petty things? What about someone who judges your entire character based on one flaw? Or what about someone who hasn't even met you, yet judges you because of something that they heard someone else say? If you stop to think about it, you're actually gaining something from finding out who your real friends are. It's not a loss, but an opportunity to weed out people who probably would have stabbed you in the back at the first chance.
2. What other people say usually doesn't stop you from living your life.
Unless the person talking about you is an employer, a close friend, or something else of the sort, what people say about you doesn't really have an impact on the way that you live your life. You are still free to make your own choices and continue living the way that you want to.
3. Your actions should speak for themselves.
Allison called you shallow? Prove her wrong by working hard at something that you love and by looking past appearances. Bob started a rumor that you did something really crazy? Flaunt the fact that you're down to earth and don't have time for immature lies. Ashley is telling people that you don't know how to socialize? Go out and meet new people. No matter how convincing a rumor might seem, people place greater emphasis on what they've personally witnessed -- so let your actions prove the haters wrong.
4. Everything blows over in time.
What happens if what people are saying about you is true? It will pass in time. You have all of the time in the world to make up for your mistakes, grow from your weaknesses, and change people's impression of you. To be honest, people who really crave drama will find a new place to stir up shit in no time.
5. If they're talking about you then they've already established that your life is worth spending their time on.
If someone is talking about you -- regardless of what they're actually saying -- a few things are certain. First of all, they have nothing better to do. Secondly, they see you as someone relevant enough to spend their time talking about. For instance: if someone from your middle school did something ridiculous then you probably wouldn't bring it up with your college friends, would you? Because, no matter what they did, they're just not relevant to your life. So if someone is gossiping about you then they clearly find you relevant enough to waste their breath on.
6. Any publicity is good publicity.
OK, you probably shouldn't be going around doing horrible things just to get attention. But, if someone is already talking about you, at least give them something positive to talk about. Don't let other people's words make you feel less worthy. In the end, your actions will speak louder than anyone's words.
