Why are we obsessed with how people think of us?

This week's article is here! Is it on time? Yes? Phew~ No? Told you I was lazy!! hahaha...
Topic: Why are we obsessed with how people think of us.

Face it certain people are. Before I start off another round of debate about narcissus* and grasses, here's how I link things up. You preen in front of your mirror; you are self-conscious. You are self-conscious because you do not wish to look like a tramp in front of others and disgrace yourself and your family and your ancestors and whatever. You want to look your best when you step out of your house. Now I see someone scrolling to the right to type in the tagboard --- wait wait not yet not yet. I have not reached a conclusion yet. Give me a chance man.

I understand that self-consciousness does not necessitate into an obsession, but more often than not it leads straight into it, like a pretty girl rushing into her prom. Being self-conscious is a good thing; it shows people that you respect yourself by taking time to ensure that you look neat and presentable. Those 'perfect' windswept and casual looks do not come by easily I suppose (Those that come by easily are usually not very nice and they look sloppy.) My point: There is a very thin line between an obsession with how people view us and us being self-conscious. Being OVERLY self-conscious to the point of fussing about everything from fashion apparel to measuring the precise length of your pretty nail(s) leads to an obsession, be it with how people think of you or how you think of yourself. Oh and by the way, an unhealthy preoccupation with oneself is considered NARCISSISM. Next.

You can be obsessed with how people think of you as a person, whether they think you look handsome/pretty enough, or whether you meet their expectations as a good friend or any other role for that matter. You worry whether you fit into other people's regimented mould of perfection, determined by them taking society's predominant votes and values into consideration. See that? Those 'obsessors' are worrying about nothing and trying to live up to other people's expectations. Living up to other's expectations is not wrong, I just feel that you should live up to your own before trying to live up to someone else's.

If you cannot convince yourself, chances are that you cannot convince others too.

Anyway, human beings are not meant to judge. If we are, anybody can be Chief Justice (!) without having to undergo that many years of legal training and the jury would only consist of one person, not so many, such a waste of tax. It is precisely the point that we are not meant to judge, which shows we do not have to fear how we are being judged by peers, especially peers. Take their 'judgement' with a pinch of salt, and decide what you want to do about it. Again, the thin line between judgement and criticism shall be carefully treaded upon. They are similar, but criticisms often have the said subject (person being criticised) in mind, whereas judgement is often just a one-sided statement made with not much objective(s).

So therefore, in conclusion, being self-conscious is fine, obsessing with how you look/how others think of you is not very good (any obsession is not very healthy either); criticisms can be good, judgements are not. Even though I state that we should all not try and judge, we still often do. It is really difficult to try to change that bad habit, if anyone has it as a bad habit(ME!). So let me take this opportunity to apologise to all those people (whether I know you or not) that I have judged before, whether knowingly or unknowingly; I AM SORRY FOR JUDGING YOU (ALL). I am not Judge Amy. wahaha.

Whoa. It's quite a mouthful now. Time for my personal statement: Boring you again? I am so sorry too. How about trying to help me think about topics that I can discuss so I can effectively capture your interest? Let the tagging begin!

I feel like writing about the whole story of poor *Narcissus in my next issue and tissue article! Or do you all know it already?! Haha...
Till next time~