Don’t take things personally, people are only talking about themselves

Most
creative people have developed a hypersensitive relationship to the world. 

And
that’s what allows them to do the work they do. Artists think and feel things
that other people can’t express for themselves. They can deliver something that
their audience can’t find on its own. 

Unfortunately, that hypersensitivity
results in artists taking everything personally. They overanalyze, ruminate and
even become depressed and anxious over brief interpersonal interactions,
wondering if their criticizer was onto something. 

I once spent an entire summer
beating myself up over a one line email from an angry reader. And I became
trapped in an bitter, ruminative loop that left me awash in fury and resentment
and made me feel irritable and on edge most of the time. 

A friend of mine once
gave me a great tip for this very situation. He said:

Don’t take things
personally, because people are only talking about themselves. 

Most people are just projecting their autobiography onto others. Spewing their
emotional bile onto whoever crosses their path. 

And so, if we allow people’s
external criticism to trump our own belief in ourselves, the joke’s on us.
Because we’ll grow so busy and stressed trying to absorb and neutralize
everyone’s feedback that we’ll never get anything done. 

Bikram famously reminds
us that nothing can steal happiness and peace away from us. If someone makes us
angry, we are the losers.

It’s all about ownership. Refusing to give people
you’re not even invested in more power over you than they deserve or should be
allowed to have. 

Remember, hypersensitivity is an asset, but it’s also a
liability. 

Learn when to exert it, and learn when to holster it. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

Are you allowing the words and actions of others to define your reality? 
LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired.

Now booking for 2017-2018.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of 

The Nametag Guy in action here!