Fear of Being Judged

During a recent hair salon visit, I overheard a conversation between a client and his hair stylist. The client said that the haircut he’d just received was a little shorter than he had expected but admitted that he had not provided clear instructions to the stylist. The stylist responded that she would have cut the client’s hair differently had she received clearer instructions. This became a repeated conversational loop of the client consoling the stylist that it was no big deal and the stylist justifying her actions. The scenario became less about the client’s haircut and more about the stylist’s feelings. Did the stylist have fear of being judged?

“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

Most people don’t spend as much time judging us as we think they do.  Regardless, you have a choice in the matter: what if you decided to give very little attention to what other people thought of you? Would you feel freer? And for those times when you did feel judged - could you accept that what others think is their choice and is more about their perspective than about you?

What if you spent more energy reaching for your goals than caring about what others thought?

If you decided not to care so much if others were judging you, would you try more new experiences? Would you pursue dreams or goals that you’ve procrastinated on because you thought others would not approve? What growth opportunities could happen if you decided to just go for it?

Are you judging yourself?

Perhaps you’ve managed to care less about what others think of you. Have a look inwards. Are you your harshest judge? Be aware of your inner critic. There are strategies for how to silence your inner critic and take action. You can nurture rather than judge yourself. Imagine letting go of your fear of being judged by others and letting go of judging yourself.

Would that make you unstoppable?