How to Stop Caring About What Others Think in 7 Simple Steps

Do you wish you were a happier person?

You’re not alone! Studies have shown that only about one-third of Americans consider themselves to be happy.

Part of that is because many Americans have become too stressed out. About three out of every four people admit to experiencing one of the many stress symptoms once every month.

But part of it is also because many Americans are too self-conscious for their own good. They haven’t learned how to stop caring about what others think, which is one of the keys to turning yourself into a happier person.

Do you want to stop worrying about what others think about you and enjoy your life more? It’s not necessarily as hard as you might think it is.

Here are 7 simple steps that will lead to you caring a whole lot less about what other people have to say about you.

Consider Why You Care What Others Think

You might not realize it, but you’ve likely been conditioned to care what other people think about you since the time you were a little kid. Your parents probably told you to act a certain way in public and dress a certain way for school so that people wouldn’t think less of you.

“I don’t want you going to school dressed like that!” they would say. “Your teachers will think you don’t have anyone at home who loves you.”

Even though your parents weren’t doing it on purpose, they were subconsciously teaching you that what others think about you is important. But the truth is that it’s not.

The key to convincing yourself of that is thinking about why you care what others think so much. When you spend some time considering it, you might be surprised to find that you can’t come up with one good reason for it. It’ll put your self-consciousness into the proper perspective and help you stop worrying about what others think.

Acknowledge That Not Everyone Is Thinking About You

In addition to thinking about why you care about what others think about you, you should also try to acknowledge that people aren’t thinking about you nearly as much as you think they are. You’re not that important to most of the people out there in the world.

Your parents, your best friends, your significant other, and some of the people at your job might think about you on a semi-regular basis. But even they don’t spend hours and hours devoting thoughts to you every week.

In reality, the majority of people are way too busy thinking about themselves to worry about others. They’re so wrapped up in their own lives and what they have going on that they don’t have the time or the mental capacity to concern themselves with what’s going on in your life.

Stop Inviting People to Judge You

At this point, you’ve hopefully acknowledged that people aren’t thinking about you as often as you believe they are. That alone should make you feel slightly less self-conscious.

Now, you need to make it your mission to stop—no, really, stop—inviting those around you to share their opinions on every little thing that you do. It’s not healthy, and it’s only going to lead to you questioning every move you make.

It’s OK to ask someone for their opinion if you need help making an important decision. There’s no harm in putting out some feelers if you’re having a tough time deciding whether to take Job A or Job B or whether you should move into House A or House B.

But you should not, under any circumstances, invite people to pass judgment on things you’ve done throughout the course of your life. The only thing that’s going to do is cause you to second-guess and doubt yourself.

Figure Out What’s Truly Important

There are far too many people who go to certain schools or apply for certain jobs solely because they think that it’ll impress other people or make other people happy. Their motivation for doing things in life isn’t based on their own desires. It’s based on what others will think.

If you fall into this category of people, you should steer clear of taking this approach to life at all costs! It’s not going to lead you to where you actually want to be in life.

Instead, you should figure out what’s important to you. You’ll care a lot less about what other people think when you’re doing things in life that matter to you. You’ll feel more self-confident and less self-conscious when you make your desires more of a priority.

Work on Your Self-Development

Once you find out what’s truly important to you, work at it and make strides as you move in whatever direction you choose to take your life. Your self-development is important and will ultimately dictate what you’re capable of achieving in life.

View here to see some of the ways in which you can further your self-development over time.

Focus on the Positives in Life

Everyone—and we do mean everyone—experiences hardships throughout life. It doesn’t matter how hard you work or how passionate you are about something. There will be times when you’re going to fail.

Rather than dwelling on the times you’ve failed in life, focus on the positive things that you have going on instead. Learn to appreciate the amazing things you’ve been able to accomplish, and it’ll minimize the impact that your failures have on you.

You won’t be worried about what anyone else thinks about those failures when you’re too busy focusing on the positives that surround you.

Love and Accept Who You Are

At the end of the day, what other people think about you doesn’t matter. The only thing that really matters is what you think about you.

It might take some time, but you should learn to both love and accept the person that you are and the person that you become over time. If you’re able to do that, you won’t care about what others think about you at all.

Understand How to Stop Caring About What Others Think

There are lots of people who spend their whole lives trying to figure out how to stop caring about what others think. They wrestle with it until the very end and can’t seem to shake the feeling that others are always judging them.

Don’t be that kind of person! Stop worrying about what others think about you and stay focused on turning yourself into the type of person that you’re proud to be. It’ll make a huge difference in your life and make you feel happier day in and day out.

Caring too much about what others think is one thing people regret later in life. Read our blog to learn about other things people regret when they get old.