Have you ever found yourself shying away from your potential because of others? I know I have. But life's too short to think about what others think of you!
Ever since I was a young girl, I was always conscious of how others saw me. Being someone who could catch on how others thought about me didn't help. So even if I knew the answer to a question or wanted to perform in front of class, I just stayed quiet, not wanting to look like a know-it-all or a drama queen.
The thing is, I was throwing away great opportunities to develop my skills while doing so. What others thought about me was in the way of my learning and I hated that there wasn't anything I could do about it.
But as always, there was something that I could do to change things. The solution to my problem was just to stop caring so much.
I'm not saying that 'not caring' should result in you going around doing everything you want to do just for the sake of it. That's not how social life works; you still have to co-exist with others around you. That includes being empathetic, lending a helping hand, and respecting people.
What I do mean is that you don't have to worry about how people will conceive you. To be honest, half of the time you're scared to do something because of others, they're probably not even paying attention. Seriously. Unless you jump off the Himalayan mountain without a rope, people will most likely be busy with their own life. So why not go all for it?
I can't say that I mastered this, but I definitely made some progress. Every time you want to do something, but you're stopping because of how others will judge you, just tell yourself that you'll be shining in the spotlight while others look up to you. AND GO FOR IT!