It’s natural for everyone to yearn acceptance; belonging in a crowd and feeling like you’re part of something bigger. This “natural” instinct, on the other hand, can sometimes change the way we grow, and not always for the better.
In reality, we can stop trying too hard to fit in and just become free individuals. But the art of not caring isn’t easy as it takes work and dedication.
It pays well not to care, though, and can change our lives for the better. Everyday, life is going to convince you that you’re not good enough. Whether it’s someone else’s job or friends or appearance, there’s bound to be something wrong about ourselves. But caring about these superficial things doesn’t improve who you are, it only makes you unhappy about your circumstances.
The key is to ignore our instinctual pursuit for the next best thing. Too often, the “best thing” for us is exactly the thing we have, only we don’t realize it because of envy. This behavior leads us into living a life that is only driven by envy and thoughtless pursuit. Stop chasing the shiny things around you and start focusing on your things, and making them shiny.
Stop caring about what people think and your confidence will soar to heights never before imaginable to you. Believe in yourself and what your version of the world can offer, without thinking about someone else’s progress.
At the end of the day, the only progress that matters is yours.
Stop trying to mimic someone’s happiness.
Let happiness grow into your life organically instead of pursuing it. A life well-lived is one where you know the difference between things that matter and things that don’t, so stop caring about the latter.
The key is to focus on your strengths and ignore your perceived weaknesses.
Don’t feed the gaps in your personality with insecurity because that’s what everyone else is doing; rise up to the challenge and become better than them.
While you may never improve your weaknesses, take comfort in the fact that you have usable strengths. Stop trying to become someone else and start embracing who you are. And if you’re bad at one thing and amazing at the other, then just focus on the latter.
Know what you’re bad at and come to terms with it. Confront these and you’ll start progressing in no time. Know what you’re good at and continue developing these traits. Eventually, you can utilize these strengths to augment your weaknesses.
Embrace your uniqueness.
So what if everyone in your family wanted to become an engineer? So what if each and every one of your friends went on to be successful lawyers? There is no shame in who you are and what you want to become, even if no one else seems to pursue the same dreams as you.
Acknowledging your individuality may be harder to you because you care too much about what other people would think or say. Remember this: what other people have to say shouldn’t have an impact on you. While others are trudging on the same path, take comfort in travelling the road less traveled. Do the things you are proud of, and don’t let anyone, not even yourself, tell you otherwise.
If you want to create unique things, know that there will always be criticism and that this shouldn’t stop you from unraveling the wonders in your mind. Own your craft and become better at it until you create something so good your inner critic wouldn’t dare say anything about it.
Become an individual by doing things your way.
Question the norm and be open to innovative solutions. Stay curious to new discoveries in life. Do you really want to be stuck doing the same thing the same way forever?
If you’re so afraid of sticking out like a sore thumb, know that everyone is busy chasing after something, so why should they notice you? Don’t worry about becoming different. At the end of the day, no one’s really watching, except individuals who could temporarily affect your life, like your boss or any other authoritative figure.
Know who you really are, and own it.
Don’t wait for people to affirm who you are. Do the things you feel like you should be doing. Your peers are not going to validate who you are so your self-worth shouldn’t be measured against people’s comments on your performance.
If you’re unsatisfied with an aspect of your life, change it for the better. Your life is going to be stagnant if you refuse to act. The worst thing you can do to yourself is to grow old and be the exact same person you were five, ten years ago.
Bottom line is, you should stop caring so much and start living. Become a better person by focusing on what you think of yourself. At the end of the day, the only thing you should care about is who you are becoming.
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