… renders you BLIND to yourself.

Why use others’ eye sight to see YOURSELF? Why would you want to look at WHO YOU ARE through the lens of someone else? It seems odd, yet we do it all the time.

Sometimes we care too much what people think about us. We allow our identity to be shaped by the opinions of others – bosses, lovers, clients. We turn our own validation over to the whim of those whom we may or may not even respect.

Who you are is NEVER contingent on what anyone else thinks about you. It never matters what they think, it only matters what you think.

If you are prone to identifying yourself through others’ labels, it will just be a matter of time before you fall into a self-imposed identity crisis. Why give your power over to anyone else to feel less than who you are? If people’s opinions of you don’t match yours, don’t take them on. In life, what you buy into is yours, ask yourself if you actually want those opinions. Because once you’ve tried them on and made the purchase, they become yours and then they color your experience of yourself.

Seeing yourself through the eyes of others is a losing strategy; it leaves you blind to yourself. It gives your identity over to others to define who you are. Take back your identity. Shut down other people’s opinions of you unless they support the YOU you know you are. If they are working against you, politely give them back. The YOU you are NEVER needs a lens to be seen. Take off the lens and you’ll never be blinded again.