People have opinions.
In fact, they have lots of opinions.
And don’t worry, their opinions include judgements about what you should and shouldn’t do.
Don’t let their judgements stop you.
Instead you must listen to the inside of you.
Give your opinion more weight than you do other people’s judgement.
Last fall, I was helping my daughter get things for her new room at college.
She had been so excited and made plans with her roommates and for herself about her room decor.
We went shopping.
She started grabbing the items she planned on her list.
She was thrilled.
Going through IKEA she was having so much fun putting things in the cart.
She also wanted my approval on these items.
I liked most of her stuff. She has really good taste and often I lean on her opinion for things as she has a good eye.
Then she grabbed this plant.
It was a long hanging plant.
It was plastic.
Not that I have anything against plastic plants.
I love low maintenance.
But I thought it looked fake.
She did NOT like my opinion.
She told me to not say anything as she did not want my opinion to influence her decision.
I reminded her that she can like what she likes.
My opinion does not matter.
This is her room.
This is how she wants to decorate it.
And she really likes her plant.
She went on to buy the plant.
She really loves her plant.
I still don’t like the way it looks.
But my judgement does not matter.
This is her room.
This is her decor.
All that matters is that she likes it.
I’m so glad she did not let my judgment stop her from creating the room decor she desired.
Now it’s your turn.
Notice when you let the fear of other people’s judgement stop you.
Just like I reminded my daughter, it’s her opinion that matters, not mine. It is your opinion that matters.
She was not doing anyone harm by liking what she likes.
Give yourself permission to like what you like.
Like it.
smiling,
P.S. Let’s work together so you can have a safe place to work on how you stay true to yourself in your life. We all need someone to help us along this path and I’m here for you.