Other people's opinions don't have to be your reality

The Les Brown Quote

Motivational speaker Les Brown has a very powerful quote: ''Someone else's opinion of you doesn't have to become your reality.''

This idea is a fundamental pillar of self-empowerment.

It reminds us that we have the power to choose the beliefs we accept about ourselves.

How Other People's Opinions Become Limiting Beliefs

Often, the most limiting beliefs we have about ourselves are not our own. They are other people's opinions that we have internalized, especially during our childhood.

A criticism from a parent, a comment from a teacher, or a taunt from a peer can become a ''truth'' that we carry around for years.

The Case of the ''Bad at Math'' Friend

The example of the child who is constantly told that he is ''bad at math'' is very illustrative. That child grows up believing that label.

And that belief affects their performance, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

However, if at some point someone helps them question that belief and shows them that they are capable, their reality can change completely.

Exercise: Identify your limiting beliefs and trace their origin

A very powerful self-empowerment exercise is to identify our own limiting beliefs.

What negative stories do I tell myself about myself? (''I'm not smart enough'', ''I'm not good at relationships'', etc.).

Once we've identified them, we can try to trace their origin. Whose voice is this really? Often, we will discover that it is someone else's voice.

Being aware of this gives us the power to question that belief and begin to write our own story.

Summary

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