6 Reasons to Emotionally Detach from Other People’s Opinion of You

“Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality.” – Les Brown

You’re emotionally attached to other people’s opinions about you—and you hate yourself for that.

You may ask, “Who am I?” but have trouble figuring out how to answer that. All those voices in your head just don’t give the right reply.

It’s because those voices come from other people in your life. Someone told you once you weren’t good enough, and you believed that. Someone else said you weren’t worth their time. You believed that, too.

Something happened in the past that attached you to other people’s opinions.

We all do this. I myself believed I was stupid, unworthy, and a weirdo. I became the person as they saw me.

The truth is I didn’t know who I was. I felt lost.

That is, until a person came into my life who ended up being my greatest teacher. She unconsciously showed me why I needed to detach from what other people thought about me.

Below are 6 lessons I learned from her.

1) You are worthy no matter what other people tell you.

Your self-worth doesn’t depend on what others say about you.

Remember that people often treat you the same way someone has treated them. For example, parents who talk negatively to their kids are already teaching them to doubt their self-worth.

But, no matter what, you’re worthy for simply being alive.

People’s opinion about you doesn’t matter. You’re already worthy of living.

2) You’re capable enough to live your life your way.

You are the leader of your life. You have the full capacity to control it. You don’t need anyone to tell you what you should do with your life.

Intuition is your guidance. You are the only one who can feel if something’s right or wrong for you.

Live your life and let others live theirs—as long it doesn’t negatively affect someone else.

3) People’s words tell more about who they are than who you are.

It’s easier to judge others than to look within yourself and find the reasons for your own judgment.

You put down another person because it’s the only way you can feel above them. The ego projects its complexes on others.

You also see people the way you see yourself. You see them from the beliefs and perspective you have about life and others.

How you feel inside is how you will make others feel.

4) You have to respect and accept yourself.

If you expect respect and acceptance from others, you’ll only be disappointed.

Do you accept yourself? If not, then you can’t ask others to accept you.

Acceptance, starting with the understanding that we’re all imperfect, is the first step toward self-love.

When you have the love within you, you’ll want to spread it to others. You will accept people as they are, and not as you want them to be.

5) Your self-confidence is about you, not about other people.

Don’t build your self-confidence based on another person’s opinion.

A confident person doesn’t worry about what others say about her. She knows who she is. She knows her worth.

Do you know a confident person? Try to learn from them.

6) People’s words are painful only if you believe them.

Words are neutral until you give them meaning.

Maybe someone told you in the past that you’re fat. You connected the word “fat” with meaning “ugly and stupid.” You created a negative belief: “I’m stupid because I’m fat.”

Now, you must form a new belief. You may say to yourself, “I do have some excess pounds, but this isn’t permanent. Everything is prone to change. So am I.”

You’ll then start acting upon this new belief, and the change will inevitably come.

Just remember that opinion is not fact. Don’t give in to its power. Instead, give power to the words that serve you.

Bio: Jana Tosic is a freelance mental health and personal development web content writer. She helps individuals and companies make an impact in their life and in this world. She also enjoys spending time with her family and working daily on her self-development. Find more of her writing at her website and connect with her on Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter.