Opinions

Hi again blogging community! Happy Wednesday to you all! Well, today's ramblings will be on the topic of other people's opinions and influences over our lives. I know that for me I struggle on a daily basis with what other people think about me and whether or not I'm making the cut in this world. It's funny because I value the opinions of other's so much that at times I don't even know what my own opinion on a matter is. Instead I just go walking through my life by the orders and the thoughts of others - instead of forming my own opinions and living my life the way I feel it should be lived.

Case and point: Over the past few years I've been strangely influenced by my family members into believing that I was not the person that "I'm meant to be". I so love my mom and everything she does for me, but she can sometimes be a little, how do I say this, pushy? She gets an idea in her mind, and she will make sure that I follow through on it no matter what because it's "what I'm meant to do". I remember in High School a specific time when my mom got the bee in her bonnet that I was supposed to be a Civil Engineer. I asked myself and my mother at the time, "Do I even like math? No.... so what makes you think that I'd be any good as a Civil Engineer?" HA! You've gotta love her enthusiasm.

Okay, so back to our subject for the evening. I've just realized with SO many of my friends and family members that we are so swayed by other's opinions. We are literally paralyzed with fear of failing somone else that we are unable to act or react to our problems in the way our hearts and our minds are telling us to. It's frusrating for me because most of the time I don't even see the influence of other people until I'm so tangled in their bitter/twisted web to realize that the decisions I've made were solely based on someone else's opinion and not my own. I've had friend after friend come to me and say, "well I quit my job because my mom told me to" or "I broke up with him because my family influenced me to" or "I gave up on my friendship with her because my boyfriend thought she was a bad friend". Who is making our decisions anymore?? To me it's beginning to look like a lot more of other people's opinions are what goes these days, and we can't even find our own selves enough to realize and understand what our stance is on certain issues.

So, what do we do to combat these differing and constantly pressurized opinions? I think we need to take ourselves out of the pressures of the world and the influences of others and have a serious chat with OURSELVES. Listen to our own hearts and minds. What is our spirit telling us to do? Or better yet, why not go to God about these issues and come to Him with the questions or the issues we are struggling with? I think what it all boils down to is finding our own voice. It's inside each of us somewhere... it just takes time to find it sometimes. It takes energy, and it takes courage to take action with what we are telling ourselves, instead of the influences and things that other's are telling us to do. Let's just take time with US for once in our lives and have a chat with ourselves about whatever issues and problems are frustrating us. And maybe then we won't have such remorse, frustration, fear, or sadness - because we know we made the best decision for us - not them.

Interesting.....