Obvious title is obvious.
We absolutely care about what people think about us, and to me at least, the sad part about it is that we have to, because of the fact that even when you are in a zone, blocking out the world and focusing on one thing, someone else may even just be looking at you and make a value judgment based on what they see. They will make a value judgment if they hear you say something that doesn’t mesh with their values or even their perception of you. Thems the breaks.
This is desire to maintain the appearance of being trustworthy/good/respectful/professional/(insert adjective here), to keep the word of mouth as positve as possible even permeates online spaces. One bad word about you in an online space can have wide reaching implications for your personal and professional life. You’re not quick enough with shipping out an item while running an online business? You may lose out on customers due to that one person having a bad experience. Threaten to fight someone over Kobe Bryant (God rest his soul)? That’s what you’re going to be known as for now on, even if you attempt a rebrand.
I wanted to write about this because I see this quite often, and once I take myself out of it (because my modus operandi is usually to keep it pushing whether people say good or bad things about me), I am learning to see why it does bother other people, and learning is about growth, right?
Featured photo by Daria Shevtsova, give them a follow on IG.
It’s a wonderful thing to recognize what is necessary for your daily function. For some people, validation is a part of that. Validation through OTHERS is even more intrinsically intertwined with some lives; I dont envy that. Mostly because I used to be there. However, i learned the value of self love. It feels like that has become directly proportional with my confidence and inversely so with external self image.
I am me. You like me, fuck with me. You don’t? That’s all the same to me. But respect is valuable, let’s not be sparse with it.