There are a few people who are supremely self-confident and feel happy in their own skin. There are also some who don?t give a damn what anyone thinks of them and pursue their own lives without any regard for the opinions of others. Most of us lie somewhere along the spectrum between these folks, lacking self-confidence in some regards and relying on the opinions of others to boost our self-esteem. So when someone comments that you?re a bit weird, or that?s an odd choice of dress, or have you ever considered getting maid service, instead of mentally shrugging your shoulders, you find yourself worrying that you are a slovenly social misfit with no fashion sense. What do you do next?
Why do we care what others think?
As social creatures, humans depend on their interactions with others for companionship, reassurance, and affection. If you are different from the rest of your social group, you can be excluded and lose the benefits of social interaction. This starts at school, where very young children are all friends and plays together. Fifth and sixth birthday parties usually involve the mass invitation of everyone in your child?s class, then as time progresses, divisions start to appear. These divisions can revolve around gender, interests, social status and the opinions of peers. By the time they?re ten, most kids will have a smaller group of friends and the cliques will have started to form that dictate who is perceived to be cool and who is not. Anyone who doesn?t conform is an outcast, and these feelings of having to conform during such a key developmental period can influence your self-perception for the rest of your life.
Are you normal, and does it matter?
Normal is just a word that describes what society expects at any particular time. In the Elizabethan age, bathing was a very rare event, and body odor was accepted as normal by the lower classes or disguised with perfumes by the upper classes. In modern society, anyone who turns up to work having forgotten their deodorant is a pariah. If everyone did conform to the desired norm of their time, we would lose the rich diversity of human experience. Many of history?s greatest names were considered odd or unusual in their time, and if they had worried about what others thought, history might have been very different indeed.
Change if you want to
The answer to whether you should change or not lies in how you feel yourself, not how you think others feel about you. If you are happy, not doing any harm, and find fulfillment in the life you lead then take heart! You are living the life many so-called normal people crave. If on the other hand, you are desperately unhappy about some aspect of your life, you have the right to change things. If you wish to change your figure, then feel free to consider enhancement, making sure you use an accredited practice like the Baltimore Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery Center. If you struggle with keeping your house as tidy as you would like it, then get some help. If you are perfectly content with your environment, hang up a sign that says ?Dust if you Must? and carry on spending your time on the things that matter to you.
Change if you want to, but only for yourself. Don?t feel you are inadequate because someone has criticized you; they are probably riddled with self-doubt themselves. Be happy to be yourself with all your quirks and eccentricities and rejoice in the freedom you have to be yourself!
