“Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality”, is a quote that really does make sense
The “Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality” Quick Quiz
1. When you are about to make a decision, do you hesitate because you are worried about what people think?
2. Do you agree to do things you don’t want to do, because you feel you must be helpful?
3. Do you find yourself acting in different ways for different people?
4. Do you feel guilty if you want to reduce your working hours/ditch the charity working/say no to a needy relative?
5. Do you often find yourself wondering what other people are thinking?
6. Do you feel bad if others are disagreeing with you?
7. Do you love getting positive compliments, but really hate getting less than positive feedback?
Developing a good opinion of yourself doesn’t mean you have to be perfect
If you answered yes to any of those questions, there is part of you who values other people’s opinions above your own. You are also in danger of allowing someone else’s opinion of you become your reality.
There are very few of us who have a wholly good opinion of ourselves, and therefore we are often surprised and delighted when someone else holds us in high regard. For some of us the reason we find it hard to hold a good opinion of ourselves is often because we have carefully hidden our shadow. Our shadow is the part or parts of ourselves which we don’t like, and we try to repress or hide. The only way through the shadow is to bring it out into the open, air it and change our mind about ourselves. Until we do, our self worth will be dependant on the whims and often faulty perceptions of others, and once we accept other people’s opinion of ourselves, it becomes like a self-fulfilling prophesy and horrors upon horrors we find ourselves behaving in accordance with their opinion.
Building a good opinion of oneself will be different for everyone. The first obstacle for most of us is truly believing that our own opinion ourselves counts more than anything. Once we have a good opinion of ourself, that doesn’t mean we don’t listen to feedback or constructive criticism, it just means we don’t always automaticlly accept it, fearing it to be true. Instead we listen carefully, then we observe ourself to determine whether there are any behaviours/beliefs we need to change. This can be done through . It doesn’t mean we have to be perfect. It does mean we have to be honest, especially with ourselves.
