What will people think?

My hubby and I were chatting about the Oscars over lunch the other day. He was telling me about the comments he heard on NPR. People loved Lady Gaga. People didn’t like Neil Patrick Harris. People thought Reese Witherspoons’ outfit was the best.

It got me thinking about these “people”. And the power they hold over us.

How many times have we had an idea, wanted to do something, but were stopped dead in our tracks by those dreaded words ringing in our ears “What will people think?”

The voice that turned us into people-pleasers and somehow along the way squelched our own uniqueness from bubbling forth unabashedly.

Who knows where it came from, that voice? Maybe our well-meaning mothers – you know, when we wanted to wear the striped pants and the flowered top to school. Or maybe a teacher, or some other authority figure.

It really doesn’t matter.  The point is, we all carry around this internal critic, this inner faultfinder who monitors our words and actions and is always on the vigilant look-out for what people will think.

Well, who are these people actually? You know what? Just folks like you and me, and him and her. With their own opinions. Which have nothing to do with us. Or as my friend Jeff Anderson puts it, the “them du jour”. When you stop and think about it, it’s really rather silly. Don’t you think?

So next time you have an impulse to do something out of the box, or to even realize there is no box, or step out of your comfort zone and make your voice heard, never mind what people will think.

Be. Youself.

You, glorious, unique, one-of-a-kind, You.