3 Ways to Care Less About What People Think of You

Why do we care so much about what other people think of us?

In this episode of Office Hours, I explain the science behind why concern about others’ opinions is so powerful in the first place. I talk about the two reasons we are wired to care what people think, how our brains treat social judgment as a real threat, and why this fear can quietly shape our choices, our behavior, and even our sense of self.

Once we understand what is happening in our minds and bodies, we can start to loosen its grip. I share three ways to break out of this pattern and begin caring less about other people’s opinions, not by ignoring them entirely, but by relating to them more wisely. My hope is that these ideas help you move with more freedom, show up more authentically, and live with less unnecessary fear of being judged.

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Referenced:

• The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness

• The Happiness Scale

• The sociopaths among us: How to spot (and avoid) a Dark Triad

• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 

• Intellectual Trust in Oneself and Others

• Chapter 39 Why Rejection Hurts: What Social Neuroscience Has Revealed About the Brain’s Response to Social Rejection

• Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex

• Does rejection hurt? An FMRI study of social exclusion

• Meaning making following activation of the behavioral inhibition system: How caring less about what others think may help us to make sense of what is going on

• Antisocial Personality Disorder

• Do others judge us as harshly as we think? Overestimating the impact of our failures, shortcomings, and mishaps

• Matthew 7:1

• Tao Te Ching

• 3 Steps to Managing Your Emotions

• My 6-Step Morning Protocol for a Better Day

• Efficacy of the Whole-Body Cryotherapy as Add-on Therapy to Pharmacological Treatment of Depression-A Randomized Controlled Trial