6 Powerful Ways How To Stop Caring What Others Think

Have you been trying how to stop caring what others think about you? Are you tired of unnecessary opinions? Here are some tips that can help you in the long run.

Let’s be honest – we all want to be appreciated and liked for the kind of person we are as well as for the things we are good at.

Seeking validation is a normal human tendency – but sometimes, not getting the desired response from others can hamper our mental peace.

Getting positive feedback from others is definitely great, but the problem arises when we start relying on what people think of us and tailor our lives to fit into others’ expectations. 

Further, their impression about who we are, often make us lose who we really are. We tend to mold ourselves to please others, and eventually, end up doing things that don’t go with our personality.

People who care too much about others’ opinions often end up having a lot of self-doubts, being sad about themselves, questioning their life choices, so on and so forth.

But once you stop caring and live the way you want, you’ll automatically notice changes in your attitude and way of perceiving life.

You’ll do what your heart calls for, pursue your passion even if it’s challenging enough, take the path less traveled, break free from the monotony, and most importantly, you’ll be in love with yourself.

Here are the best ways to stop caring about what others have to say and free yourself to be yourself.

How to stop caring about what others think:

1. Trust yourself.

It’s extremely important to understand that you’re the best version of yourself, and for healthy living, you need to focus on your priorities.

If you rely on the opinion of others to feel good about yourself, then, of course, you’re going to give a lot of importance to what others think of you.

Therefore, if you want to stop caring what others think, you need to start relying on yourself for validation, instead of relying on the validation of others.

Accept yourself the way you are, indulge in doing things that make you happy, stop criticizing yourself for your mistakes.

When you trust yourself to the fullest, you’d stop seeking validation for everything you do in life. 

2. Let go of the idea of perfection.

The idea of perfection is very relative – what might be perfect for me, might not be the same for you! We often think that we are a certain kind or behave in a certain manner – then that would be perfect.

But that thought isn’t always right – and can turn dangerous at times, as we tend to lose our real selves in that fruitless pursuit of chasing perfection.

When you let go of the idea of perfection, you’ll start doing things with love. You’ll be more open to accepting the imperfections in yourself, and know that you’re still as beautiful.

You’d understand that what people think about you has more to do with them than with you.

3. Mind your own business.

That might sound a little harsh, but let me tell you the truth – once you start minding your own business, you’ll automatically start caring less about what others think!

I’ve got a friend who’s so self-absorbed that she’s always doing something or the other, keeping herself busy.

I was quite impressed by how she deals with life and learned that if I’m also engrossed and dedicated to my chores, I’ll have no time to think about others’ opinions.

When you start getting involved in things you love, you’d barely have time to care what people say!

And if you really become aware, you’ll notice that most of the time, the negative feedbacks come from people who are over-critical, unsuccessful or unhappy with their own lives. 

4. Find things to really care about!

Whether it’s your physical health or matters of mental well-being, about pursuing your passion or looking after your family, or maybe about taking a much-needed solo trip – get to know those things that you really care about.

When you’re busy working toward something that’s important and meaningful to you, you simply won’t have the time and the brain bandwidth to worry about what others think.

Try to focus on learning new things that would help you to grow as a better person. Get back to old habits that once made you happy.

You’ll stop caring what others think by having more important things to care about.

5. Surround yourself with people who lift you up.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this article, it’s a normal human tendency to seek validation. Sometimes, we need others to guide/ help us in doing things, or in making important decisions.

For that, we need to have people who really care about us. Your parents, siblings, close friends can be those people – but you need to be mindful about whom you’re seeking opinion/ validation from.

Your grandparents might be extremely loving towards you, but they might not approve of your style of dressing – that doesn’t mean you should stop wearing your favorite little black dress!

Similarly, your colleague who’s also a good friend might think that you indulge in eating too much junk food – but that shouldn’t kill your love for burgers!

What I am trying to say is, have people who lift you up but never let their opinions stop you from doing things that you love.

6. Focus on the moment. Accept the fact that life is too short. 

When you worry too much about what other people are saying or thinking, you’ll end up missing the little joys in the present moment.

On the contrary, if you enjoy what’s there now and fully soak in the present, you’ll not bother about what would come later. 

This time that you have is extremely precious, and you can’t afford to lose it thinking about how to please others!

Well, you’ve got one life, and that’s pretty short. Would you really want to waste time worrying about what other people think?

Guess not! It’s time that you decide for yourself who you are and what you want, how you plan to go out and achieve all that you dream of.

Once you start trying to ignore what others think, it might seem a little difficult in the beginning. But as you embrace the tips & hacks I’ve mentioned above and practice living a happier and more fulfilling life, you’ll eventually get to “I don’t care what others think”.