People care too much about what others think, even if they claim they do not. Do people really think about others so often? Whose opinion matters most when it's about to you? Yours! So why do people crave the judgments of others? We will explain and discuss the most frequent reasons in this article.
People with a low self-esteem tend to overrate other people’s opinions. Because they doubt their own capacities, they constantly look for the reassurance of others. This doesn’t help very much, as other people have other values, other lives and other experiences. Their judgements might therefore be misleading. What is good for one person does not need to be the best for another person. That’s why it is so important to trust in his own capacities and judgements instead of relying on other people’s opinions.
You had some bad experiences in the past or you made some bad decisions which you are regretting now? This can lead to the situation, that you lose the trust in your own decisions, meaning you do not trust yourself anymore. But when you take a look around, who else knows you better than yourself? Exactly, there is nobody. So if you made some mistakes in the past, it doesn’t mean that everything you do is wrong. It just proves that you are making mistakes. Mistakes are the best way to learn. So you should feel stronger after every mistake you made, every failure you experienced. Of course there is nothing wrong about asking other people about their opinions or advice, but don’t forget that you are the captain - This is your life!
When we start a new job, begin a new sport or we arrive in a new community, we are sometimes unsure how to act or react in this new environment. We ask other people for help, to explain or to introduce us. But this does not free us from the fact that we all need to make our own experiences. That’s why it’s good to learn from other people, but it’s wrong to take over their evaluations or opinions. We have to make our own experiences, no matter if they do or do not match with those from others.
If somebody has a tendency to isolate himself, this can lead to a decreased social life and rare contacts to other people. In these types of situations, there is a danger of losing connection to the world around us. As our contacts with other people become fewer, as higher is the barrier for a comeback to social life. The same problem occurs sometimes after a breakup or a failed relationship. When the period of grievance finishes, we may feel like kids exploring a new world, we have to learn how to chat with strangers again, how to go out again, how to connect with new people. It is important to remember in these situations, that even if your relationship failed, this does not mean automatically that you have failed as a person. That’s why you should remember your capacities, instead of being stuck in the negative environment you may come from. We have to leave isolation behind; we have to go out and enjoy life again – we don’t need to update our problems from the past.
Many people have idols or role models they like to follow. They dress like their idols, they try to behave the same way and they tend to compare their own lives with the life of their role model. This can be very depressing, as we usually choose our role models in very successful or famous people. Do our idols bring the trash out, wash the dishes and clean their toilets the same way like we do? Probably not, but we don’t know it. The thing is, when we constantly compare ourselves with other people, disappointments are guaranteed. Because we only see pictures, or movies, we cannot look behind the scenes. Maybe our idol suffers from depression, and still we see those happy shiny pictures on social media? Do not compare yourself with others! Live your own life, take care of your own stuff and maybe you will be luckier one day than your role model has ever been!
Do you have a Smartphone? Can you imagine living without it? It may sound weird, but just 15 years ago nobody on our planet Earth had a Smartphone at all. This example illustrates, that things we need, things we buy and things we miss are directly related to the things which other people have. We cannot free ourselves from social norms and expectations. On the other hand, not everything fits to us. Don’t lose contact to the world around you, keep your eyes and mind open. Is a new trend something for you? Who knows best but you? At the end of the day, you make the decision and not society. But to be able to make this decision, you should know what the others are talking about. Therefore, a minimal participation on social life is always necessary.
It’s a good thing to know the world around us, other people’s opinions and to learn from them. But when it comes to your own life, the most qualified person is still you! Don’t be afraid of making mistakes; don’t fear the judgment of other people, because you are the only one in charge!
Created by Tom Vermeersch (bio)
Tom Vermeersch is a certified Psychologist and Bach flower expert with more than 30 years of experience.
Seven tips for finding peace in a chaotic world
The world's changed beyond recognition in the last few decades. In 1980, there were only three TV channels to choose from, and not everyone had a landline - people often wrote letters to stay in touch with one another! Computer games were in their infancy, and video recorders were still a novelty. If you wanted something, you would go shopping, or perhaps order it by post and wait a week or two for delivery.
Your life's ticking along nicely; you seem to have everything you could reasonably wish for. But you feel sad, and you don't know why. Maybe you're not getting enough sleep? Or is it the weather? Or is there something else going on?
Isn't depression just a fancy word for feeling a bit down?
Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety affect around 1 in 6 people at some stage of their life. Despite it being such a common problem, many sufferers wait months or even years before seeking help.
Bad habits waste your energy and time. They disrupt your life, risk your health and stop you from achieving your aims. So why do we do them? And what can we do to break our bad habits?
Why a life without stress and obstacles is unrewarding
Stress can be both good and bad; it’s up to you how you look at it. But too much stress can be dangerous. Read more about stress in this article!
Can you accept things you can't change? Take our quiz!
Your relationship ends, or you lose your job, and you get stuck in a rut of negative thoughts and suffering. How good are you at letting go of grudges and accepting that some things are beyond your control? Take our quiz to find out!
Standing Up To A Narcissistic Pervert
Whether it's with a romantic partner or a housemate, there's no doubt that a relationship with a narcissist can be very challenging. But are there ways to cope better? Or is it better to leave the relationship?
Are you sabotaging your own happiness?
Are you sabotaging your own happiness? All too often we sabotage our own happiness and in this article we’re going to look at how you do that.
Have you considered yoga? The advantages of practicing yoga
Have you considered yoga? There are many advantages to practicing yoga. It is a holistic practice benefitting you physically, emotionally & mentally.
While you often hear people joking that they have OCD because they like to keep their house clean and tidy, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can be a distressing and debilitating mental health condition with a wide range of symptoms.
People care too much about what others think, even if they claim they do not. Do people really think about others so often? Whose opinion matters most when it's about to you? Yours! So why do people crave the judgments of others? We will explain and discuss the most frequent reasons in this article.
People with a low self-esteem tend to overrate other people’s opinions. Because they doubt their own capacities, they constantly look for the reassurance of others. This doesn’t help very much, as other people have other values, other lives and other experiences. Their judgements might therefore be misleading. What is good for one person does not need to be the best for another person. That’s why it is so important to trust in his own capacities and judgements instead of relying on other people’s opinions.
You had some bad experiences in the past or you made some bad decisions which you are regretting now? This can lead to the situation, that you lose the trust in your own decisions, meaning you do not trust yourself anymore. But when you take a look around, who else knows you better than yourself? Exactly, there is nobody. So if you made some mistakes in the past, it doesn’t mean that everything you do is wrong. It just proves that you are making mistakes. Mistakes are the best way to learn. So you should feel stronger after every mistake you made, every failure you experienced. Of course there is nothing wrong about asking other people about their opinions or advice, but don’t forget that you are the captain - This is your life!
When we start a new job, begin a new sport or we arrive in a new community, we are sometimes unsure how to act or react in this new environment. We ask other people for help, to explain or to introduce us. But this does not free us from the fact that we all need to make our own experiences. That’s why it’s good to learn from other people, but it’s wrong to take over their evaluations or opinions. We have to make our own experiences, no matter if they do or do not match with those from others.
If somebody has a tendency to isolate himself, this can lead to a decreased social life and rare contacts to other people. In these types of situations, there is a danger of losing connection to the world around us. As our contacts with other people become fewer, as higher is the barrier for a comeback to social life. The same problem occurs sometimes after a breakup or a failed relationship. When the period of grievance finishes, we may feel like kids exploring a new world, we have to learn how to chat with strangers again, how to go out again, how to connect with new people. It is important to remember in these situations, that even if your relationship failed, this does not mean automatically that you have failed as a person. That’s why you should remember your capacities, instead of being stuck in the negative environment you may come from. We have to leave isolation behind; we have to go out and enjoy life again – we don’t need to update our problems from the past.
Many people have idols or role models they like to follow. They dress like their idols, they try to behave the same way and they tend to compare their own lives with the life of their role model. This can be very depressing, as we usually choose our role models in very successful or famous people. Do our idols bring the trash out, wash the dishes and clean their toilets the same way like we do? Probably not, but we don’t know it. The thing is, when we constantly compare ourselves with other people, disappointments are guaranteed. Because we only see pictures, or movies, we cannot look behind the scenes. Maybe our idol suffers from depression, and still we see those happy shiny pictures on social media? Do not compare yourself with others! Live your own life, take care of your own stuff and maybe you will be luckier one day than your role model has ever been!
Do you have a Smartphone? Can you imagine living without it? It may sound weird, but just 15 years ago nobody on our planet Earth had a Smartphone at all. This example illustrates, that things we need, things we buy and things we miss are directly related to the things which other people have. We cannot free ourselves from social norms and expectations. On the other hand, not everything fits to us. Don’t lose contact to the world around you, keep your eyes and mind open. Is a new trend something for you? Who knows best but you? At the end of the day, you make the decision and not society. But to be able to make this decision, you should know what the others are talking about. Therefore, a minimal participation on social life is always necessary.
It’s a good thing to know the world around us, other people’s opinions and to learn from them. But when it comes to your own life, the most qualified person is still you! Don’t be afraid of making mistakes; don’t fear the judgment of other people, because you are the only one in charge!
The world's changed beyond recognition in the last few decades. In 1980, there were only three TV channels to choose from, and not everyone had a landline - people often wrote letters to stay in touch with one another! Computer games were in their infancy, and video recorders were still a novelty. If you wanted something, you would go shopping, or perhaps order it by post and wait a week or two for delivery.
Your life's ticking along nicely; you seem to have everything you could reasonably wish for. But you feel sad, and you don't know why. Maybe you're not getting enough sleep? Or is it the weather? Or is there something else going on?
Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety affect around 1 in 6 people at some stage of their life. Despite it being such a common problem, many sufferers wait months or even years before seeking help.
Bad habits waste your energy and time. They disrupt your life, risk your health and stop you from achieving your aims. So why do we do them? And what can we do to break our bad habits?
Stress can be both good and bad; it’s up to you how you look at it. But too much stress can be dangerous. Read more about stress in this article!
Read the complete article
Your relationship ends, or you lose your job, and you get stuck in a rut of negative thoughts and suffering. How good are you at letting go of grudges and accepting that some things are beyond your control? Take our quiz to find out!
Read the complete article
Whether it's with a romantic partner or a housemate, there's no doubt that a relationship with a narcissist can be very challenging. But are there ways to cope better? Or is it better to leave the relationship?
Are you sabotaging your own happiness? All too often we sabotage our own happiness and in this article we’re going to look at how you do that.
Have you considered yoga? There are many advantages to practicing yoga. It is a holistic practice benefitting you physically, emotionally & mentally.
While you often hear people joking that they have OCD because they like to keep their house clean and tidy, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can be a distressing and debilitating mental health condition with a wide range of symptoms.
Bach Flowers are not medicinal but harmless plant extracts which are used to support health.
© 2026 Mariepure - Webdesign Publi4u
