Why You Need to STOP Protecting Other People’s Feelings

And focus on protecting your own feelings first

Daniel P. Donovan
3 min readMar 9, 2020
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

When was the last time you heard someone say…

“You know what? I really like myself!”

My guess is quite a long time. Perhaps even never.

And the reason for that is simple: People don’t like themselves… or at the very least, they’ve been conditioned to eliminate all traces of boastfulness in order to protect how others feel.

In other words, if people do like themselves, they’re quickly taught to not show it.

For example, if you…

  • Don’t talk about everything you have because it might hurt those who can’t or don’t have it, or…
  • Don’t talk about how good you feel because it might hurt those who feel terrible or not nearly as good as you, or…
  • Don’t talk about amazing experiences because it might hurt those who feel left out or unable to take part in the same activities, or…
  • Don’t show too much pride in yourself because it might hurt those who feel less than you…

… then you’ve been letting this tired and toxic wisdom dictate your life all along — and without evening knowing it, you’ve surrendered your own self-love to the cause.

You’re constantly walking on eggshells trying to protect everyone’s feelings — and slowly but surely, it’s been erasing your desire to show off your own unique and beautiful expression.

Sheltering the feelings of others has indeed left your own to freeze in the cold.

Truth is…

It’s imperative to let your freak flag fly (and learn how to protect your own feelings first)

It’s a nice notion to protect how others feel — there’s no denying that.

But when protecting the feelings of others means holding back your own unique, wonderful, and beautiful expression, everybody loses.

If someone feels bad for not having what you have… or gets irritated for not looking how you look… or gets annoyed and angry because they can’t experience what you experience… that’s on them, not you.

It’s not your fault they’re lacking in the self-love department. And no amount of holding yourself back is going to help them, either.

The solution?

Be yourself, fiercely and fully — and never be ashamed to let your freak flag fly.

You wanna really make a difference? You wanna really inspire others to be their best selves? You wanna really feel amazing in your own skin?

Then never hold back being who you are.

You have to learn how to protect your own feelings first… how to express yourself truthfully and without restriction… how to stand with confidence and pride knowing that you love who you are and who you’re becoming. It’s this type of honest expression that makes the most impact in the world.

When you build yourself up and finally stand tall, remember this…

It’s never to look down on others — it’s to give you the strength and the courage to bring everyone else with you.

Holding yourself back is a surefire way to keep every single one of us lower to the ground.

Be the one who rises — and as you rise, may we all rise together.

Halt right there!

If you enjoyed this daily musing, why not show it some love or share your thoughts below? Either way, you’re awesome & I appreciate you reading 😊

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Daniel P. Donovan
Daniel P. Donovan

Written by Daniel P. Donovan

Conceive it. Believe it. Achieve it.

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