Hello everyone,
A few weeks ago I shared a few words on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. They said:
"Think about how much you’ll care what others think of you when you’re dead, or when they’re dead. Then carry on."
If we are liked, we tend to feel safer. We feel as if we are a more valuable part of a group, and if we are more valuable, we are less likely to be in danger.
It's caveman stuff. If you feel as if you are being crippled in any way by what others might think of you, perhaps see if it's possible to notice within yourself that you want or need to be liked. Once this is identified, see if it's possible for this to be relaxed, as an experiment.
To reference a message I shared a few weeks ago, ask yourself: "How would it feel to not need to be liked?"
If you experiment with it, you might notice that the need to be liked doesn't always have to be there. It can be like a switch that is accidentally turned on, but can consciously be turned off. It takes some experimentation and practice (because we are so used to the button being turned on), but noticing it within yourself is the first step to freeing yourself from it (if you even want to).
So if you find yourself a victim of others' opinions, know it is because you want them to like you, and you are fearful of what will happen when they don't. If you relax this need to be liked, you can see if you are actually in any more danger than when you were worried...
You can also play with the idea of not being liked, or being rejected. What's the worst that could happen? Play it out in your mind until the end rather than trying to stop it from happening. The scary ending to the story isn’t scary at all. It's liberating.
Hope that helps, hope you are all well,
Adam
Inner Peace Now > Emotional Wellness > The Need To Be Liked