Perspective and how it shapes our existance.

We spend a considerable amount of time concerned with what other people think. In fact, if you’re not careful you can waste half your day worried about what others think. Imagine for a moment that we live in a world where opinions don’t matter to us in the slightest. If fear of what others thought wasn’t holding you back what would you do? What would you accomplish knowing no one cared either way if you knock something out of the park or fail at it?
I’m going to let you in on a secret that takes a considerable amount of time investment to figure out. No one truly cares. It’s our perspective that they do. It’s our perspective that holds us back, that stops us from doing the things we think we’ll fail at and from doing the things we want to do or enjoy because we think people actually care about what we’re doing. In a sense the problem and the solution are one in the same. We assume other people care about what we care about because we’re focused on ourselves. The same is true on the opposite side of the coin. Those folks we concern ourselves with and what they’ll think are the same as you and I.
They are predominately focused on themselves and what’s immediately going on with their own life. Sure, they may say something or pass judgement on something but it’s fleeing. Chances are they won’t even recall it hours later or the following day.  As soon as they are done thinking about it their thought process reverts back to their own lives. This is partly inherit by nature. We’re programed for self-preservation and as part of that preservation scheme being selfish ranks highly. Selfishness is a requirement for self-preservation. Without at least a small amount of selfishness we wouldn’t provide ourselves with self-care in the ways it’s necessary.
 Think about the last time someone cut you off in traffic, do you think they we’re thinking about you when they cut you off? Of course not. They we’re thinking about picking up Sally from school or thinking about how late they were for a meeting they had scheduled. You were of very little concern to them from their perspective short of they had to get in front of you in traffic to get where they were going faster, or at least in their head they had to. Now think about how you felt and what you thought when they cut you off. If you are anything like me, you may have said something at them no one could have possibly heard but you and maybe a passenger if you have one. Chances are you vented for a moment and maybe made some hand gestures and went on about your day and by the end of it you hadn’t even thought about it again. Were you concerned why they cut you off or where they might have had to be at a certain time? Probably not because your perspective is they cut you off and inconvenienced your day.
 The point I’m trying to make is that we give people more power over our lives based on opinion than anyone even asked us for. We assume that if it’s something we care about, automatically others will too. In some cases, we do find a tribe that does care about some of the things we do and usually that derives a wonderful sense of belonging. In general though, the populous doesn’t care about what we’re doing or what’s important to us. Only we really do. This isn’t to say that people in our circle don’t care about us. They absolutely do most of the time. However even our closest allies and friends still prioritize their needs above ours a good amount of the time.
 In the end it’s our own perspective that shapes our present. We hold ourselves back by caring what others might think of us when in reality they just are not that concerned with what we’re doing. In realizing this it’s a bit nihilistic in the sense no one cares but at the same time refreshing knowing you just actualized your path to true freedom.
 In closing I’ll leave you with this: care less and do more…

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