Have you ever really wanted to do something, anything at all, and then stopped yourself because of thoughts like, “I’d love to do ______ but if I do, people will think I’m nuts or insensitive or selfish or reckless or that I’ve lost it?”  Or maybe it went like this, “I’d love to do ______ but if I do, ______ will stop liking/loving me.” If you have never done this before, please contact me immediately because I want you to teach me your secret!

I am betting that all of us have, at some point in our lives, decided not to do something because we feared and wanted to avoid the judgment of other people. I know I have, and I am making a deliberate effort to stop that. Below are some questions that I ask myself when I feel myself shrinking from something I want to do because I fear the judgment of others.

#1 Don’t you think if the people whose judgment you are trying to avoid will judge you for that thing you are considering, that they will judge you for anything you do?

#2 Do you really believe that you can actually make people see you in a certain way, say, as you want them to see you?

#3 In the past, when you have chosen not to do that thing you wanted to do, did you get the reaction you wanted from the people whose judgment you were trying to avoid?

#4 How did you feel about yourself when you didn’t do what you wanted to do?

#5 Was it worth it?

Final question…

Do you think you can ever feel good about yourself if you let what other people think of you be more important than what you think of yourself?

Me either.

I welcome your comments and please feel free to share it with others!  Thanks for being here.