TJBTM: Who cares?

Something I have struggled with for a long time is deciding who's opinion matters. In my last post, I discussed the event with my dad on vacation. At my age then I was not strong or wise enough to realize that the jeweler's opinion does not matter. The older I get, the more I realize the amount of people's opinion I should value, is a very small subset of who I currently have.

Currently, I care about every opinion stated about me. This is a ridiculous and impossible standard to keep up.  Thinking about who should be on the list is very different based on what the opinion is covering. For example, my work and productivity should be judged by my colleagues and management. In addition, I also care a great deal about my students and their opinions. However, I will not really seek any personal opinions or insight from them. Just like, I will not look for my work performance standards from my knitting friends. There are appropriate and useful opinions that can better oneself and help us grow. Beyond that, it can just be nonsense and unrealistic suggestions founded by naive opinions.

The person who I value their opinion the most about personal growth, happiness and life advice is my dear family and close friends. I believe we are family and friends because we have the same morals and goals. We have had similar dreams but different experiences which can lead to helpful insight for each other. 

Setting this new idea into practice. This weekend we attended a baseball game. It was a lot of fun! We were celebrating my husband's birthday with our family and his parents. My husband is a Starwars fan and as such, we decided to go to the Starwars day at the ball park. While leaving the stadium, everyone I was with used the restroom and I waited outside. A man came up to me and touched my arm to get my attention. He said you look like "Chewbacca", where is your mask.... He was clearly drunk however I was hurt by the comment. My first reaction was I must stand out of a crowd that much for him to say that to me?? However, after the car ride home thinking, I came to the conclusion I had a great weekend. Why let one comment from a complete stranger, who's opinion does not matter to me ruin my day. I won't. I will just move forward and not care. Instead, I will tell you I had a great time and love my family so much. That will define the weekend.