Be You!

Lately I’m realising that society is smashing our self-confidence and self-esteem due to what Michael Beckwith calls the ‘Tyranny of Trends’. “ Very often, trends convince individuals what their life’s purpose should be. The tyranny of trends is blasted out at us from television, radio, newspapers, tabloids, computers, and even our dentist’s waiting room, attempting to convince us that we must smell a certain way, wear a certain label, weigh a specific weight, have whiter teeth, drive a certain car, make a certain income, and so on, before we can consider that we’ve made it.”

This stuff conditions us to think that we should live a certain way, otherwise we won’t be ‘cool’. Everywhere we go, some form of media or advertising is telling us how we should be. It affects everyone. Believing that you have to be a certain way is a quick road to anxiety, fear and depression.

It can be really hard to break free from.
Dr. Daniel Amen’s came up with the 18/40/60 Rule: When you’re 18, you worry about what everybody is thinking of you; when you’re 40, you don’t care about what anybody thinks of you; when you’re 60, you realize nobody’s actually been thinking about you the way that you think they do. It’s actually quite funny when you think about it. We worry so much about what others think about us, we even live our lives based on what we think others will think about us. “We wouldn’t worry nearly as much about what others thought of us if we recognize how seldom they do.” – Paul Coelho

And how about some more gold from Michael Beckwith; “Most of the time, nobody’s thinking about! They are too busy worrying about their own lives, and if they are thinking about you at all, they are wondering what you are thinking about them. People think about themselves, not you. Think about it—all the time you are wasting worrying about what other people think about your ideas, your goals, your clothes, your hair, and your home could all be better spent on thinking about and doing the things that will achieve your goals.”

People think about themselves way too much to even worry about you. If one of your friends has just lost their job and you have a migraine, where do you think you’re energy will be focused? My bet is on your migraine.

So how can we break free from society’s ‘Tyranny of Trends’?

Let’s stop wasting our energy on caring about what others think about us and instead direct that energy into creating the life of our dreams.

Do what really drives you. Live your passions and dreams.

We are all unique and different. As much as you might like to be like the person you saw in a magazine or film-clip, you’re not.

Things would be pretty boring if we were all the same. You’re you, and you are beautiful.

As much as you might like to disagree with this – YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. So feel free to be YOU! Being you is COOL!

Follow your intuition and your deepest desires.

And don’t worry about what others think – Most of the time they don’t!