How to Stop Letting Other People’s Opinions Guide Your Life

Why it’s important we stop taking everything the world throws at us and truly introspect.

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I was resting near the shores of the beach, as usual, after a long ride. As I watched the waves rise and fall, I saw a man heading towards the water with a load of trash. He dumped it into the ocean, and left as if it did not matter to him at all! I watched as the trash bag floated in the water and just when it seemed to have become one with the sea, the waves ushered the trash right back to the shore. The ocean had made it clear; The trash didn’t belong there.

It got me thinking, if nature adheres to this principle, why don’t we? The baggage of untested beliefs and opinions we carry — passed on by people who affect us — despite it not being our own, hinders our own understanding and perception of the world.

The trash people dump into our sea of thoughts, pulls us into a vortex of unwanted misery. Yet, we do not leave the baggage behind. Why?

You might even disregard this analogy in the name of Science, I mean yes the difference in density is the reason why the trash is sent back to the shore, but that’s not quite the point.

You see, even in this scenario, the density of the thoughts are defined by the words and beliefs associated with them.

Ignorant claims and unwanted opinions from strangers may evoke anger in some of us, either because they hurt our pride or we’re a little sensitive to the things they’ve spoken about, but it’s usually the result of layers of thoughts associated with the idea. It doesn't affect us as much as when the same words are uttered by people within our circle. These words now hold weightage and significance. They become heavy enough to sink into the depths of our minds and cause turbulence.

One could therefore look into the following: What caused the Turbulence?
Is it the individual or the statement made by the individual?

Often, when we give too much importance to people unnecessarily, unaware of their values or views and allow them to accompany us on our…