Living Beyond the Opinions of Others

Today’s Thought

Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance.
~Plato

Rachel Hollis says something repeatedly throughout her work that I really like. It’s something to the effect that other people don’t get to choose the life you live because they don't have to live with the results.

The late Wayne Dyer used to say that a major achievement along the path of personal development is to become, "Free of the good opinions of other people."

As long as you can remember, you had to deal with other peoples’ opinions of you, what you do, and who you are. The mistake you may have made early on is believing their opinions. Maybe they had a position of authority, they were your friend, your parent, a boss, or someone you really admired.

The fact of the matter is there’s only one opinion, ultimately, that matters in your life. There’s only one opinion that propels you or stops you in your tracks. That’s your opinion.

Now, you may have a low opinion of yourself in a given situation or endeavor. That’s content for another blog. Right now, we’re focused on all those other opinions that stream into your life, often without invitation. Who should you listen to and who should you ignore?

Let’s start with this. An opinion that limits you or squashes your potential, no matter how much you love or respect the person offering it, needs to be ejected from your life now. That opinion is not moving you forward.

I’m not talking about ignoring sound advice like don’t, “Don’t drive on the wrong side of the road.” I’m talking about opinions like:

“Oh, you don’t want to write a book. No one will ever buy it.”
“He’s the best you’ll ever do. You better hang on to him no matter how he treats you.”
“You can’t run a successful business. I never could.”
“Why do you need a Master’s Degree? I did fine without it.”
Power hack: When someone is audacious enough to tell you that you never can or never should follow your dream, I want you to apply this standard. Does that person have the life you want? Have they achieved what you dream of achieving?

You see, most people who spend their lives shooting down other peoples’ dreams and naysaying are bitter because they never had the courage to go after theirs. Or maybe they did, and it didn’t work out for them. That’s sad, but it’s no reason to squash your enthusiasm and determination for yours.

If your critic lacks the credentials to advise you or obviously is not coming from a supportive place, ignore the opinion. It’s of no value to you. Find those people who do support you and, damn it, support yourself! Every great achievement in human history happened, despite all the opinions about it not because of them.

You will never be free of opinions flowing into your life, but you can free yourself from their negative effect and get on with the business of following your bliss!

You – yeah you – you’re AWESOME!

Ray