I am an anxious person. Not too extreme, you see but I can worry a lot about what other people think. Maybe it’s my self esteem, not anxiety. Point is, people’s opinions take too much mental space at times.

“Is this ok?”

“Did I do this right?”

“Did he/she get offended?”

Who cares?

Don’t get me wrong - I’m not talking about being respectful, inclusive or open minded. These are ideals we should strive for. It becomes an issue when I’m afraid of being judged by who I am - my beliefs and values. When I’m afraid I’ll be judged for putting my family or my health first.

Sometimes you just gotta decide to be unapologetic.

Same thing goes when I have a conflict with someone. Most of the time, it’s not something so significant that “it’s worth it” to stay angry. So I just let it go. I “pretend” like nothing happened. Not because I don’t care. But because I care more about my mental space.

Your mental space at any moment is a frame of the movie of your life. And framing it carefully will change your perspective. Because perspective shapes our reality.