What Others Think

Are we affected?

For many of us, our life crumples in moments when we hear someone say something odd or bad about us... And in such times, we feel low, upset and worthless. But the question we often forget to ask at such times is, ' is it worth being even bothered about what other's think?' Here is a good story  that I happened to read from an email sent by a friend, some time ago. Thanks to the author (unknown to me) and above all thanks to the Mighty God for allowing me to read it... Now here for many more to read... Enjoy and prepare to feel great about yourself.

Once upon a time, a thief hadn’t had any luck for many days in a row. One night he went out with a resolve that he wouldn’t return home empty-handed. He scoured the streets looking for the right home, the right opportunity, without any success. Tired and dejected, in the wee hours of the morning, he sat on a footpath and fell asleep. A few minutes later a drunkard was passing by. He saw the thief and felt sorry for him thinking he was also some drunk who had passed out on the street. He stopped by to see if there was any bottle lying nearby because that’s what he was interested in — more liquor. But, there was none. Feeling angry, he left. Hardly had he gone when another man, who happened to be a gambler, saw the thief. “Poor loser,” he thought. “He must have lost so much that he’s scared to go home.”
An hour passed and another thief happened to pass this way. He looked at the sleeping man and thought, “He must be an unfortunate small-time burglar like me who couldn’t get his hands on anything tonight.” Dawn was breaking over the horizon when a yogi was going to a nearby river for ablutions. He looked at the thief and began admiring him. “This is a real yogi,” he thought. “Unlike me, who’s still caught up in rituals, he’s just lying here carefree, without any belongings. This is the way of a yogi.” He derives deep inspiration from the thief, bows before him and gets going. Another hour later, the sun, now warm and bright, wakes up the thief and he leaves for his home empty-handed.

This is how our world operates. It doesn’t matter who, how or what we are. Each one will see us according to their capacity.THEY WILL FORM THEIR OPINION BASED ON THEIR PERCEPTIONS AND PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS. OFTEN, MOST OF WHAT OTHERS THINK ABOUT US IS DEPENDENT ON THEIR OWN CONDITIONING. IT IS NOT AS MUCH ABOUT US AS IT IS ABOUT THEM. The more we realize this, the less bothered we will be by other's opinions., When people do think about us, often it is more along the lines of what they want to think about us. As they grow and evolve, as their priorities change, they begin to think differently. Right from the day we r able to intelligently perceive this world, we have wanted the approval of others. And the very funny thing is, the other person too wants our approval. Everyone wants to be in the good books of others. Agreed, we cannot totally ignore the opinions of others, but the question is how much r we willing to stretch ourselves for the opinion of others? At some point it is good to turn inward and see who we actually are. It is absolutely possible to sit high in others opinion if we turn inward... the magic is not making others feel high about us, but in the fact that WE WILL BE LESS AND LESS BOTHERED ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK ABOUT US. As we turn inward and cultivate positive qualities, we develop even more beautiful qualities and we will soon find that it is possible to be contended within. HOW WE SEE OURSELVES IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOW OTHERS SEE US,bcas our happiness purely depends on our own honest opinion. So now, it's time to decide if we must be bothered about what other's think!