WE ARE ALL FIRST TIMERS IN THE GAME OF LIFE. Being rookies, we are doing the best we possibly can given our present circumstances. One impediment we do have to playing the game adeptly though is that we are made vulnerable to the opinions and judgments of others.

We’re inclined to take notice of other people’s opinion of us whether it’s by a remark, sly look or gesture… and especially so when it’s negative. Gullibly, we take their judgments of us to heart, unquestioningly accepting it as being what sort of person we must be.

Depending on what company we are in, friends, strangers, the work place etc, we will automatically adjust our behaviour  accordingly so that we can ‘fit in’ with what we believe that particular person or group of people thinks and expects of us. We are all locked into this inane mindset of trying to be someone we’re not.

We are completely unaware that the way we interact with people is totally misconstrued and the opinions and judgments that we subconsciously hold about ourselves (garnered mostly from others) are only second hand, fragmented perceptions that we mistakenly take as being the truth about who we are.

“An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negative
opinions of others can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside of you.”

The problem is you are identifying with the opinions of others as being who you are. It’s not! You are a completely different person to what other people think. Don’t identify with them! Watch the thoughts and feelings which parade through your mind, especially when confronted by negative slurs on your character, but don’t say ‘I’ to them.

You must not identify yourself as being who ‘they’ think you are. This impersonal approach breaks the destructive habit of falsely labelling yourself as someone you’re not. Your okay just as you are, so try being exactly that, no matter what company you are in…

Dan’s Quote: “It’s not who you are that holds you back.
______________It’s who you think you’re not.”

Header: Aurora Australis in the early hours of the morning.
Howden, ‘Tasmania’ by Sophie Fazackerley!