Are you really sitting there worrying about what some else is thinking about you, again?
A lot of us could probably answer YES to that question a lot more often than we would like to admit.
When those thoughts creep into your mind I would challenge you to combat those thoughts with a question to yourself … before you even let yourself start running down that rabbit trail of all the ‘what is so and so going to think if I make this choice or if I do that thing” Way before you let yourself slip into that old pattern of thinking…
STOP
Ask yourself – If you were not afraid of that particular person’s judgement of you – if you knew absolutely without any doubt that whoever the person or people are that have scarred you by their judgement would NOT know – THEN – what would your choice or your action be? Would you do the thing?
Would you take the step of faith if you were invisible to those that YOU are allowing to have control over YOU?
Because, it is your choice to allow others thoughts of you to have an impact on you! That is YOUR CHOICE to allow that.
That IS MY CHOICE to allow that.
What other people think has NO impact on me or you UNLESS we allow it to!
Now, before we go any further, I want to get the obvious comments out of the way at the top of the conversation here.
What I am NOT suggesting in this post is that we should ignore common courtesy, good human-being kindness and all of those good, healthy, and positive characteristics that we want to uphold to represent ourselves well in a respectable and decent manner.
These are good!! It is important to have standards and boundaries that you model your life after. We find a lot of these in the Bible. A lot of these are taught in Sunday School and Church. A lot of these are passed down to us by our family and loved ones.
I believe with all that is within me that we are all to live honest and morally good lives pleasing until the Lord. I think for the most part if you treat people how you would want your loved one or yourself to be treated then as a general rule kindness will be at the foundation of those actions.
But – what I am talking about is just normal regular things that are not harmful physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, to us or anyone else.
The first question to ask yourself:
- If you could do the thing invisible to ‘those people’ in your life what would your choice be?
Then the next question to ask yourself:
- What do you want in this area of your life? For real, what do you want this area of your life to look like this time next year and in five years?
Next questions to ask yourself and this is a really important one:
- Do you really care so much about what ‘they’ think that you are willing to exchange their opinion for your happiness, for your dreams, for your potential future?
- Are you going to allow ANYONE ELSE’s opinion other than the Almighty Himself to have that much weight over you?
In case you are struggling with the answers to these questions…. let me give you the answers… Consider this an open book test…
- If you would do it invisible to ‘those people’ then that is something you really want to consider saying yes to.
- Pray about it.
- Talk to supportive people in your life that actually practice what supportive means, that practice what really loving you means, that are positive influences in your life.
God did make us all individual people. That means that we get to be different than other people. God made us that way.
He gave us each different desires, hopes, and dreams.
He gave us different likes and dislikes, different things we enjoy, and different things that are of interest to us.
You get to be your own person – in case you need a reminder of that.
You do not have to be like anyone else in your family, in your social circles, in your professional circles.
You can be you. An authentic you that may or may not be like anyone else.
That is the beauty of God making us all uniquely individual.
He gives you permission to be you. He gives you permission to live your life according to what He placed within your heart.
God is the absolute only ONE that you need to concern yourself with pleasing.
God is the absolute only ONE that we need to worry about being visible to.
I am going to leave you with a quote by Theodore Roosevelt that I just love. I read it often. I think it sums up any of the things that I didn’t already say above.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ― Theodore Roosevelt
Much Love ♥️
Michelle