What Others Think of Me is Not My Business… Anymore!

Warning — NSFW language. Anna Jorgensen writes:

The other night I went to a music event with some new friends and after a few drinks we got to philosophizing about how we (people) consciously and unconsciously filter ourselves in consideration of others. Swaying near the men’s bathroom and close-talking above the noise we’re oblivious of by now, a couple of staggering and swaggering men pass us (we’re two, I dare say, attractive redheads) on their way to the loo.

Redhead Barbie (not me): “I used to always worry about what everyone was thinking of me. It drove me insane!”

I reply, “People have their own reality, their own perception. No matter how much you might try ‘explaining’ yourself to some people, they’re not going to get it. They’ve got their own movies going on in their minds.”

She gets it. “Yes! It used to bug me that they were misinterpreting me. I wanted to try to convince them or show them.”

I love this stuff. “You can’t. If it doesn’t fit into their box, if they’re not ready, willing and able, it’s a waste of time. You just get frustrated. Like, everyone in town has this perception of me as this successful professional, which I am—was—but I’m also a truck driver’s daughter with a potty mouth and filthy mind. That shit doesn’t go over so well in business.”

She retorts, “People who know you, really know you, love you and appreciate who you truly are, swears and silliness and all.”

Go to the source: What Others Think of Me is Not My Business… Anymore! ~ Anna Jorgensen {Adult} | elephant journal.