IDGAF.

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

— Marcus Aurelius

People will talk. They always have. And they always will. No matter what you do or say, how you behave, the way you walk or dress, how you act, or the decisions you make, will always be scrutinized by others.

But it doesn’t matter what other people think of you. It doesn’t matter what other people say about you behind your back. Their opinions have no basis in defining what you’re all about. They aren’t the truth. They have no purpose other than to hurt or harm you. There is no rhyme or reason beyond making the other person feel superior to you in some way or another.

But this isn’t something new. Other people have always had an opinion.

Just because someone is different from you, doesn’t make them inferior. No one is better than you no matter what.

Still, it’s hard to not get disheartened when others hurl intentionally-hurtful opinions at you. It’s easy to think in your mind that those opinions don’t matter and don’t define you as a human being, but it’s harder to put in practice. It’s hard to suppress your emotions when people are doing their best just to get you going.

It’s important to take the high road. It’s important to turn the other cheek and look the other way. Not only for your own sanity, but for the simple fact that you shouldn’t give others the pleasure of insulting you. You shouldn’t allow their negativity to stir you into a fury. It doesn’t matter what other people think. Not at all. As long as you’re doing the right thing and you’re interested in creating value and contributing to the world, you shouldn’t care what anyone else thinks or says.

— People will always find someone to talk about. Throughout history, people have always found someone to talk about. They’ve ganged up on those they perceived as different, or in some way a threat to their own existence.

We don’t live in a perfect world where everyone is the same, with the same set of upbringings.

— Your self-worth isn’t defined by an approval rating. No matter what the naysayers and the purveyors of negativity around you might say, your self-worth isn’t defined by an approval rating. There’s no objective rating scale that allows another person to judge you. They don’t know what you’ve been through. They don’t know your story, your trials, or the path you’ve walked through.

The point is that you have to do what’s right for you, and not base that decision on what other people think about you or what you’re doing. Nobody is perfect. Nobody has the right to declare you unfit or unworthy of something just because of a flaw or because you’re different than others. As long as you’re doing the right things in this world with the right motivations, it doesn’t matter what other people’s opinions are of you.

Don’t get sucked into negative thinking and people’s poor opinions of you. It doesn’t matter. Take the high road. Ignore the naysayers. Turn the other cheek no matter how much it burns you or hurts you inside to do so.

Keep light of the fact that many before you were judged, and many after you will continue to be judged.

It’s literally impossible to please everyone. No matter what decision you make, someone is going to be upset.

Don’t allow it to upset you. Don’t allow it to phase you. Forget what they think. Seriously, forget it.