What people say about you is none of your business

Sometimes we can get very upset about what someone has said about us or called us. But we don’t need to. If someone calls you a name behind your back or on social media this should always be taken with a pinch of salt, as it says more about that person than it does about you. People have opinions and these opinions do not define who you are.

Assess the situation

What background is this person coming from? Are they upset with their own life or something that is happening and trying to pass this on to you? Words like “bitch” and “idiot” are unintelligent names and are usually used by people that can’t find the right vocabulary to describe their real frustrations.

These people are known as bullies – even if it just a name and they might be envious of something you have or something you do.

What works for me

What works for me is telling myself that “what people think about me is none of my business” because they do not walk in my shoes, see through my eyes or feel how I feel. So they can’t make any judgment on me. I tell myself that these people have nothing better to do than to tear me down so I make myself laugh at these situations. I force myself to laugh and tell myself that this person just doesn’t know me well enough to comment.

It says more about them than it does about me.

Tell yourself that people who are hurting, are the ones who hurt others, rather than taking it to heart. Your life will get better if you stop caring what people think. Getting worried about what someone thinks about you is a waste of your energy and time. Focus that energy on doing the things you enjoy and spending time with the people that love spending time with you.

Make a choice about what you choose to pay attention to. If you have experienced cyberbullying and you find that you can’t laugh off mean or hateful comments, stop reading these comments or remove yourself from the situation! You can’t stop people from being hateful, but you can choose to ignore them and do something you enjoy with your time instead.

Be Happy

Starting the day with a smile – even when you don’t feel like it – sends a message to your brain to be happy and release happy hormones.

I’d rather look back on life and say ‘I can’t believe I did that’ than ‘I wish I did that’.” -Richard Branson

This post was submitted by Amy Breen: Learning and Development Coach and Director at Brompton. Thanks Amy x