This is one of my favorite quotes about fear. Caring too much about what others think robs us of our creative intuition. It forces us to second-guess ourselves and prevents us from actually making our own choices for fear that the outcome won’t meet some imaginary standard set by someone else. Don’t get stuck in this prison!

Here are three tips for finding freedom and caring less about what others think…

• Focus your energy NOT on fighting the old, but on building the new. (Hey, another quote!) This nugget of wisdom from Socrates truly is the secret of change. And changing habits that we’ve likely been creating since we were kids is not easy. “Fighting the old” has a negative connotation to it, as if you’re admitting to yourself that your habits aren’t good enough (great, another piece of you to hate) and so they must be changed. Rather than looking at your weaknesses and picking them apart one by one, try to focus your thoughts on becoming the person you want to become. The person who doesn’t care what others think. How does it feel? What does this person look and act like? Is she happy? Fun to be around? What are her habits? Is her positive energy and self-love contagious? Focus on that and soon your new habits will become characteristics of a person you’re proud to be.

• Think about someone you admire who seems naturally happy and confident and then imagine what they’d be like if they were consumed with a fear of others’ opinions of them. They’d probably not seem like the same person, right? For me, the people I admire most are those who have made the simplest things in life seem like the moments that are worth living for. These are the people I want to be like the most. They’re not concerned with ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ or being perceived a certain way. I also don’t play the comparison game around them because they make me feel good about who I am and inspire me to be my best self. They bring harmony wherever they go because the confidence and happiness they exude doesn’t come from temporary things like their appearance, their possessions or their status. It comes from the joy they find in being a good person, being kind to others, working hard for what they have and selflessly giving their time to help others find this same happiness. Which leads me to my last tip…

• Do more things for other people. We live in a self-consumed, self-promotional world these days. The era of the #selfie, of social media platforms that allow us to share the very best (and sometimes worst) side of ourselves and our lives, and if you’re a blogger, the constant self-consumed nature of letting everyone know what you’re up to and what you’re doing next. At a deeper level, these things are not often born from bad intentions. For example, selfies are a fun way to document an emotion or moment in time, visual social platforms like Instagram and Facebook have become family photo albums for many people, and blogging can certainly be all about the reader if you’re focused on bringing them something of value. But if our days revolve around these activities alone, we are bound to find ourselves stuck in the habit of trying to appear better. Instead of actually becoming better. The quickest fix I have found for this is to spend more time thinking about what I can do for other people. This brings balance and purpose to our lives and builds character at the same time. If you need ideas, I highly recommend you purchase this book. Sometimes the smallest act of kindness can make all the difference in someone else’s life. And that feels way better than an extra “like” on your latest filtered photo.

Have more ideas for caring less about what people think?

I would LOVE to hear them in the comments!

Enjoy your Sunday. Thanks for reading.