Do you feel inferior?

‘No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.’

Eleanor Roosevelt

I rediscovered this quote over the weekend, whilst looking for some inspiration. It reminded me of how influenced we can often be by others opinions of ourselves, whether they be friends, partners, work colleagues or new acquaintances.

We cannot change others but we can change ourselves and the way we respond to things, which happen in our lives.

Think about how we form our thoughts and opinions of others.

What are they really based on?

How many are actually based on fact with real evidence or are they made instantly with no real knowledge of the person or before we have even spoken to them?

Finally, how often do our first impressions of people turn out to be false?

Remember, this is also true of people forming their opinions of us.

It can be challenging not to take to heart what we think other people may think of us. Ask yourself how do you really know they are thinking? Our minds are powerful things and can distort our perception of events and trick us into exaggerating or dismissing certain events or words. We can end up thinking we may have spoken harshly to a friend or were over apologetic, as afterwards our mind played events back in this way. In either case don’t beat yourself up and make yourself feel small or inferior with worry.  Be honest with yourself and you can be confident in any situation with the person you are.