You asked: How do you handle the naysayers and stay true to yourself without playing small?

You shrink yourself, act small, pretend not to be too happy or too successful in order not to upset a certain person? I think most have had a taste of it? If not, consider yourself lucky. For those that have and those that will, below are my tips to help you during this strange encounter.

5 Tips to Staying Strong and True

1. Playing small serves no one, especially yourself.
2. Don’t take it personally. What they think is merely a reflection of themselves and how they see the world. Chances are they have a lot of soul searching to do, but that’s none of your business…unless they ask for help of course.
3. Don’t assume. Their chatter could be positive, you don’t know so don’t automatically assume the worse! Until you can confirm, it’s a total waste of your time to ponder if someone has an issue with you. If you know for certain there’s an issue, either ask them to talk about it and remember to refer back to number three.
4. People will always have something to say no matter what you do. That being said, I make sure I find what’s important to me and consult the people that matter. You can’t please everyone and you should’t try, but when your confidantes are giving you feedback you should listen.
5. If you are unsure if certain opinions matter, envision your last few hours on earth. Yes I went there, but do it. See all of the things you wanted to do but didn’t because the random opinions of others stopped you. Would it be worth it? I’ll break my own rule and assume not.

Bottom line, it takes a lot of guts to be truly yourself. If you stick your neck out, have an opinion, take action, it will make you vulnerable. It’s a fact of life, so don’t take it personally. Finally, considering who we spend our time with is crucial. If we are hanging with people that don’t make us feel good, it might be time to reconsider the social circle. Energy is important and so are you. Don’t forget it.

Until next time!

-Lauren