"The greatest prison that people live in is the fear of what other people think." - David Icke 

Sadly we live in a world where we so desperately want everyone else to think well of us. We are so worried about what others perceive of us that we trap ourselves behind the bars of a prison.

I'm not gonna lie, we are all human beings, inclined to want others to think positively about ourselves. And this isn't always a bad thing. Getting valuable feedback on yourself can keep you grounded. Seeking approval from others is perfectly fine, only until you start compromising your health and happiness. It's when you start caring too much about others opinions, opposed to your own, that you are unable to move forward and live the life that you want to live. This causes you to worry about not attaining the level of success that everyone else would want you to be at. Or look a way that everyone wants you to look. Or do the things that everyone else wants you to do. We must break the bars of this prison, and free ourselves from the shame of what others think. 

Those people over there, the ones you think are talking about you, judging you. They're not. Really, who has the time? Everyone is far busy worrying about their own life, to think about you or anyone else. And even if they were looking at you, talking about you, or judging you, I assure you that they're not saying any of the awful things you're thinking. We mustn't be dependent on what others think about us. When we try to be someone that we're not, only to please the rest of the world, we make ourselves unhappy and miserable, simply to meet the standards that others want us to meet. Constantly seeking approval is only going to force you to miss out on the beauty of being yourself. Being the unique person that you were born to be.

BREAK THE PRISON BARS

To overcome this worry, we must stop worrying about what everyone else things, and focus on what our Creator, Allah thinks. Be a compassionate and caring human being, live your life using the power of reason, common sense and ethical standards. Morality, integrity, honour, honesty, ethics, common sense, and reason are all things we've learned to be good human qualities and attributes. Apply these to your life, not to please the rest of the world, but to please your Creator. After being in this cage for so long, we forget what the world outside of it is like. We accept ourselves to continue living within this cage. But let me tell you, life outside that prison you're in is pretty great. It's a place where you can be who you want to be, express yourself with no bounds, fulfil your greatest potential in life and be everything you've ever wanted to be. 

JUST REMEMBER THAT...

There are some things in life, such as this, that can never be resolved. So we have to come out of this cage and feel proud of ourselves for being unique. Always remember that there's no need to give this more importance than it needs to be given:

Don't let the fear of what other people think stop you from living the life that Allah has sent you here to live.