Kelly Clarkson.  She is one of my favorites … what a tremendous talent!  In her song “Mr. Know It All”, the lyrics portray a woman fed up with her man because the way he is treating her is out of line with the way she demands to be treated (Good for her!).  So much so, that she’s moving on without regret.

This mythical lady doesn’t give two hoots about what this guy thinks.  He should have taken the time to know and understand her, she clearly believes. Since he didn’t, why be concerned about his drivel?

Even so, should we care about what other people think of us?  As usual, the answer is complicated:  Yes and No.

Let’s say that someone you love and that loves you delivers an unpleasant word to you.  This is someone that puts up with your imperfections and loves you anyway.  Perhaps, it is a friend that cries with you when you cry and hurts when you hurt.  I say, yes, when someone that loves and knows me like that shares an opinion about me, I believe it is worth examining and taking seriously.  In short, I care about what people think about me that know and care about me.  Doesn’t mean I agree or that I’m going to change somehow, but I truly do care about what they have to say.

In the alternative, why in the world should we care about what a stranger thinks of us?  You’ll agree, I’m sure, that we shouldn’t.  Yet, many of us do.  In today’s society, caring about what most people think of us is dangerous to our vision!  It serves to destroy our self image.  Why? Few people are going to make any effort to encourage you.  Today it’s all about “What’s in it for me?” and instant gratification.  Gratifying you?  Not often.

Additionally, it is amazing to me how many people out there somehow feel that tearing down someone else builds them up.  It must work something like this, “Oh my, I couldn’t live with this messy kitchen” (Now I feel better, I guess my messy kitchen isn’t so bad after all!).  You have dreams to live, goals to achieve, and ideas to promote, right?  Don’t let the self-important slow you down!

The lesson is this.  Do not waste a moment of time caring, much less worrying, about what others think of you unless they know you, care about you, and you care about them.  After all, why put any stock in what someone says that is ignorant?

Credits:  Thanks to YouthVoices.net for the picture and to Youtube and Kelly Clarkson for the video.