Nobody’s Thinking About You
Not that we like to think it, but the truth is . . . nobody is thinking about us.
It’s a harsh little reminder that resonated with me when I read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (yes, the author of Eat, Pray, Love).
I read A LOT, and Big Magic is one of my treasures . . . dog-eared, highlighted, full of scribbles. My mum hates that I do this to books, but I can’t help myself!
As a creative person, I connected with so much of it. But there’s one chapter I go back to again and again:
Here’s an excerpt from the book: “We all spend our 20s and 30s trying so hard to be perfect because we’re so worried what people will think of us. Then we get to our 40s and 50s and then we finally start to be free because we decide that we don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks of us.”
This chapter gives me a good kick up the bum. It reminds me that someone else’s opinion of me is none of my business . . . people are mostly wrapped up in themselves anyway.
Here’s a reading of the full chapter if you’d like to soak it in yourself:
Why This Matters for Parents Like Us
As mums, we put so much pressure on ourselves . . . school mornings, homework, meltdowns, social struggles . . . and then pile other people’s opinions on top of it.
But here’s the thing: you’re doing enough. More than enough. Most of the time, nobody is watching, nobody is judging . . . they’re too busy dealing with their own lives.
✨ This is your permission slip to stop caring what anyone else thinks. Focus on what your child needs and what keeps you steady.
If mornings are your hardest time (they are for us too), I made a Morning Strategies Checklist you can grab for free. It’s a simple one-pager that takes the chaos down a notch.
So the message for both of us is:
Don’t give a shit about what anybody else thinks. Get out there, be you, and do what lights you up.
“It’s likely no one will notice . . . and that’s awesome.”
If you want more gentle, practical tools for surviving the hard days, I’ve pulled everything that’s helped us into my For the Kids Who Don’t Fit the System Guide . . . a $27 PDF toolkit for parents of kids who need more support.
And if you’d like to dive deeper into Big Magic, it’s one of my favourite books on courage and creativity. You can find it here on Amazon. It’s a book I return to often when I need a reminder that most of the pressure I feel is self-made.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.
Like this reminder? Save it to Pinterest so you can come back to it whenever you need encouragement.
Pin this for later . . . a gentle truth to hold onto on the hard days.