Some things are worth caring about. Others are a waste of energy. We must choose carefully what we spend our time thinking about, and learn to drop all of the things that don’t matter. The problem is that it can be difficult, and without awareness we find our worry creeping back. So it is important to know what isn’t worth the worry. Here are 7 things to stop caring about today:
- What Other People Think Of Us
Of course we should value the opinions of our loved ones, and take on board advice that people offer, especially when it is well grounded and constructive. However, all too often we worry too much about what other people think, even complete strangers. The judgements of other people can cause us to dress, act, and even think in a certain way, which is not true to ourself. We should stop caring about what anyone else thinks, and learn to express ourselves. This includes our looks, how we are in a relationship, who we form them with, and who we are as a person.
- Fitting In
Conformity is seriously overrated. I would rather be judged for who I am, than for who I am not. When we no longer care too much about what other people think of us, we no longer care about trying to fit in. Even in larger groups we should stop caring for conformity. That is not to say there aren’t going to be certain behaviors that do need conforming to; certain social rules that help with communication and respect. Fitting in should never be at the detriment of who you are, so forget about it!
- What Other People Want For Your Life
I think it is also important to stop caring too much about what other people want you to do with your life. Very often no harm is meant when other people think they know what is right for us, and usually people close to us, such as family members, have the most imposing opinions and ideas about what is “right.” But only you can decide what to do in life, and when you have your heart set on a direction or goal, no one should be able to penetrate it. Life is each persons to do with what he or she pleases.
- Gossip
It is an easy conversation starter on a level that everyone can handle, so yes some people fall into the trap, and more still admit that they enjoy a gossip. Forget about it! Not only is gossip a waste of energy, it is also poison, and it only ever comes back to sting. Gossip is an easy way to make life more complicated for yourself and everyone around you, by always having a negative opinion on somebody else’s life, and spreading only hear say. Your opinion counts for nothing when it is thrust like a venomous tail towards someone else. Just as we should learn not to care how other people judge us, we should also stop judging other people. Celebrity gossip is perhaps the epitome of this unintelligent behavior; having an opinion on someone’s life who you do not even know; a true waste of energy.
- Being Right
Too many people care about being right, myself included, and I think nearly everyone is guilty of it to some extent. It’s like we always have a point to prove, something to say on everything, and like we have to be the one to come up with the final answer. Debating whether something is “right” is usually a complete waste of energy. We should ask ourselves why we feel the need to prove ourselves, or our viewpoint to somebody else, why we want to convert them to our way of thinking. Sometimes we even argue about the “right” and “wrong” of opinions, as if they are fact. We say “Mozart is better than Beethoven,” and then persist with our argument until either we have “proven” our point, or the person we are talking to gets tired and gives in. We could save ourselves a lot of energy, and have more enjoyable and dynamic conversations if we stop caring about being right all the time.
- Being Perfect
The extreme form of wanting to be right all the time, is wanting to be perfect. Perfect hair, perfect face, perfect body, perfect at our job, always on time, never makes mistakes, perfect at everything we do even without practice. Perfect doesn’t exist. Not without imperfection anyway. We should hold ourselves in high esteem, and set our targets high, but let us stop trying to attain some false image of perfection, and embrace our flaws and weaknesses, as well as our strengths.
- Anything Beyond Our Control
Finally on our list of things to stop caring about, is anything outside of our control, which let’s face it, includes many aspects of life. On a day to day basis it is best to focus our energy on what we can change, and what impact we can make on our own lives and those around us who we love. Everything else is not worth caring about, because it can only result in worry, and can never result in change.
