How do we care less about the opinions of others?
So many of my clients find themselves stuck. Paralysed not by a lack of desire but by the opinions and judgments of others.
This isn’t surprising when we remember how we evolved.
In the village, gossip could get you hauled before your community to explain yourself.
Step too far outside the group’s expectations and you risked exile, which in times gone by meant danger. Vulnerability. Potentially, your survival at stake.
That fear still echoes within us.
Even now, we worry about being too much, too loud, too ambitious.
Every culture has its own way of warning us not to stand out:
In Britain, we say, “Don’t get too big for your boots.”
In France, they say you have “swollen ankles.”
In Japan, “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
But what if standing out isn’t a threat — but a signal?
What if the discomfort you feel isn’t a sign to shrink…
but a sign you’re stepping into your truth?
Not everyone will like it.
Some may even misunderstand or blame you.
But you’re not here to fit neatly into the mould others imagined for you.
You’re here to become the shape your soul has always longed to take.
Fear of judgment is ancient — but so is the call to freedom.
And right now, you don’t need to silence the fear.
You just need to walk forward anyway - even if your boots are too small and your ankles too swollen.