I’ve had a few intense experiences lately of being proved wrong. And they’ve been fantastic. I was assuming people had certain (negative) thoughts about me. But those same people ended up offering me amazing opportunities, clearly having very positive thoughts about me instead. The negative thoughts I’d assigned to them were completely imagined on my part.
I totally appreciate the old adage “what someone thinks about you is none of your business”. But that’s easier said than done. The truth is that I do care what certain people think about me. It’s my responsibility, then, to watch what assumptions I make about what they’re thinking. I have to know when I’m projecting, inferring, or just plain making stuff up. I also have to ask myself why I care so much and what’s the cost of that to my well-being. Making all of it “none of my business” would certainly be liberating.
What opinions of others have you made your business lately?
