Everybody has opinions, and sometimes everybody thinks that the world is entitled to theirs. Find out what opinions are, why we all have them, when opinions matter, and when they don't.
Everybody has a right to their opinion, but other people's opinions don't always matter. How can you know when someone's opinion is important and when to ignore it? Join Mysticsense to find out. Find out what opinions are, why everybody has their own opinions, and if our opinions make us special. Find out the difference between opinions that matter and those that don't. Even though it's very annoying, we can't always control whether other people give unsolicited opinions. However, we can keep ours to ourselves so read on to learn how to do that.
What’s an Opinion?
An opinion is just your judgment or view about something. It might be based on expert knowledge, but usually it's based on judgments about things. People have opinions about everything, and yes everybody has opinions. Some people are just better at keeping their opinions to themselves. An opinion can be something from your favorite ice cream flavor to who your best friend should be dating. We form opinions about things in our own lives, and those opinions guide us to the decisions that we make. We also form opinions and judgments about other people. Strangers who you pass and public, the people who you are friends with, the family members who you love and take care of, and even public figures who you will never meet are all people who you will form opinions about.
Every moment of every day, we are forming opinions. They serve us when it's time to make choices. You may have an opinion about which business does the best service so that will be who you select to hire for an important family function. You may have an opinion about which color goes better with your decor and that will help yu decide what decorative items you buy. So, in this way, opinions help us to make important decisions in our own lives. However, we don't just form opinions about things that are important to us. We form opinions about other people. Whether we like certain things about other people will be decided by our opinions. We don't really choose whether we form opinions or not. They happen automatically whether we keep those opinions to ourselves or not. Want to know whether to be silent or speak up about an opinion? Find out here: When to Be Silent
Why We All Have Opinions
The human mind is constantly interpreting information and we form thoughts about whether these are positive or negative things that we come into contact with. One of the things that we are heavily influenced by is what other people tell us to believe. Typically the people who we are most comfortable with and interact with the most often are the ones who influence our beliefs most. Perhaps like attracts like, but perhaps it's something more. When you are exposed to information over and over again, you are more likely to believe it. Since people tend to segregate themselves into groups of people who are more like them, you may find yourself believing the same things as the people who you spend the most time with.
Not everybody believes everything that they're told though. Your personality and personal preferences will influence your opinions. Your ability to empathize may be stronger than some other people's abilities, and when you see people suffering, you may be more understanding and sympathetic of them and form less harsh opinions about them. If you have never really struggled very much in your life, and you believe that you are self-made for example, you may blame other people for their misfortunes. If you have struggled through no fault of your own however, when you see someone else struggling, you may be less likely to say that they did something to cause their own suffering. Not everyone will doubt or question their own opinions but doing that can be a good thing sometimes. Find out why doubt can be a good thing here: Why Having Doubts is Good Sometimes
Do Opinions Make Us Special?
Our opinions don’t make us special simply because everybody has opinions. It’s just a part of being human. Some people believe that their personal opinions are better than some other people's opinions, so it makes them feel superior. What we think might not make us better people, however what we think does influence the things that we do. So our opinions are very important. If you are of the opinion that you are entitled to scream at everybody who upsets you, you're going to get the reputation for being a very unkind individual. If you are of the opinion that people don't deserve to be screamed at, and instead you calmly work through frustrations, you will get the reputation of being a more level headed individual. The way we behave influences our relationships, our careers, and the basic type of life that we have. So, in a way, the opinions that we hold actually are special because they decide how we create our lives.
Sometimes though, our opinions don't matter to anybody but us. Some people don't understand this. They will broadcast their opinions to anybody who is unfortunate enough to be able to hear what they're saying. Some people even try to change everybody else's opinion to make people agree with them. Usually if you have ten different people in the room, you will have ten different opinions about whatever topic you're discussing. A lot of people believe that their opinions are more important than the opinions of people, especially those who disagree with them. That’s because people want to fit in and will even change views of behavior to please others.
An article by the National Library of Medicine illustrates how people change opinions. They say 33% of people in their study changed their opinion because of how the information was delivered and 10% were responding to societal pressure to change. Refreshingly, 10% changed their opinions based on information. Interestingly enough, the people and the study who changed their opinions based on societal pressure were more politically conservative or neurotic than those who did not. Read more from that study here: The effects of information and social conformity on opinion change - PMC
When Their Opinion Matters
Very few people want to be viewed as someone who's being intrusive and offering unsolicited opinions. However, sometimes other people's opinions really do matter. When a situation directly influences someone or includes them, their opinion counts. When their opinion specifically matters to you, then it is important.
It Concerns Them
Your dream job awaits. It's what you've wanted for years, and all of a sudden the perfect opportunity has presented itself to you. There's just one catch. You would have to sell your home and uproot your entire family and move far away from your lives to pursue that dream. All of a sudden, the decision doesn't just affect you. Your partner would have to change jobs. Your kids would have to leave all their friends behind and change schools. It would be a major move. What they have to say about it counts. The people whose opinion don't count are the ones who aren't directly affected by that, and they're the ones that you shouldn't have to listen to. Someone who you are sharing life with or working through a situation with has every right to share an opinion about a decision or a situation.
They Are Part of Your Life
We all have our own lives to live, it's true, but we are never completely alone. Even if you're a single person, the people in your neighborhood are directly affected by some of the decisions you make. Your coworkers, long distance family, and friends who don't live with you are too. Major decisions that you make affect them even if they're not living with you. At your house you might want to have a loud party until 4:00 in the morning on a weeknight, but keeping your neighbors up with that noise might be something they're not happy about. So, yes, they matter in the decision that you make. Even if something doesn't directly affect them, your friends can tell if you're making a serious mistake and if they care about you they're going to speak up and say something. It is in their best interest not to watch you suffer. Hopefully a bad decision doesn’t break you a d your friends up. Learn about best friends break ups here: Am I Having a Best Friend Breakup?
It Matters to You
You're tired, you're frustrated, and you just feel like giving up. The people who love you most are not going to sit by and let you just give up. Yes it's your life and your decision, but when something really matters to you, the people who care about you will offer their opinions to help keep you motivated. When you are dating someone who will not give you the type of life that you want, the people who love you will share their opinions that you're making a mistake. Maybe you're so upset by a situation that you can't think properly. Ask other people for their opinions about what is going on and they can provide some clarity that you can't for yourself. When something really matters to you, the people who you love can see that. Their words of wisdom can guide you to a great decision.
When Their Opinion Doesn’t Matter
While everybody thinks their opinions matter, sometimes they don't. When the situation doesn't involve someone or they're just being mean, forget about their opinions. If their opinion is somehow otherwise irrelevant, just ignore it.
They Aren’t Involved
“ Well if it were me…” well sometimes, it isn’t them, and they are in no way involved in a situation. Just because somebody is aware of something doesn't make them involved. Sometimes people believe what they have to say is more important than it actually is. Those opinions can be ignored. Chances are everybody in the world would have an opinion about the exact same thing that someone who is not involved has an opinion about. Their opinion doesn't matter. Find out what to do if somebody offers unwanted advice here: What to Do with Unsolicited and Unwelcome Advice
They’re Cruel
Some opinions are as unkind as they are unnecessary. If you put on your favorite outfit and somebody tells you that you look fat wearing it, So what? The only thing they have shown is that they do not have the self-control to keep that unnecessary opinion to themselves. Everybody sees things that they find unattractive but the whole wide world doesn't have to know it. So forget their unkind opinions.
It Doesn’t Matter
An opinion may have absolutely no relevance. Especially in the professional world, people who are not qualified to give a professional opinion certainly think they are sometimes don't they? People want what they want, and what to assert their so-called perfect viewpoint, but sometimes it just doesn't matter at all. If you are a restauranter and you're opening your eighth restaurant based on the award-winning model the other seven restaurants broke records with, and someone who is not a professional who comes in and says that they dislike the menu? They can just be ignored. Food is magical. Learn about the magic of food here: The Magic of Food
How to Keep Opinions to Yourself
We can't always control what other people say or do, but we can control ourselves. There are times when you should keep your opinions to yourself. If something's none of your business, don't say a word. Be silent about it and make sure not to let your facial expressions betray you.
Understand That’s It’s Not Your Business
If something does not concern you, it's someone else's right and decision, and you are in no way a participant. So keep your opinion to yourself. No one needs an opinion from every person on the surface of the planet about everything that they do. If you believe that your opinion could be helpful instead of offering it, have the respect to ask, ”Would you like my opinion?” before offering.
Be Silent
Not speaking your opinion aloud is the perfect way to keep it to yourself. If you're having a difficult time staying silent, you can write your opinion down and then throw the piece of paper away once you get your feelings out. You can also share your opinion with a friend who you know will not talk to the person who doesn't want your opinion. Have the humility to understand that if your opinion is not valid, it doesn't need to be shared. The assumption we need to voice every opinion we have is a good thing to let go of. Find out the magic of letting things go by purging here: Time to Purge- Let Go of The Unnecessary
Fix your Face
Watching your facial expressions and body language is just as important as watching what you say. Sometimes even when we are silent, we give our thoughts away with the look on our face or gestures that we unintentionally make. So fix something called a”poker face” or an expressionless position on your face and do not gesture so people won't know your opinion.
While our opinions don't make us special, they are special because they influence our behavior. Other people's opinions don't matter when it doesn't involve them, but when it involves other people, their opinions do matter. It's important to learn to keep your opinions to yourself when things are none of your business and you should be silent about your opinion. May your opinions guide you to make the best decisions and may you shut out the unhelpful opinions of people who are just being nosey.
Did you just get an opinion from someone and you're wondering whether you should let that opinion influence you? The best opinion you can get is that of a psychic. Get a reading with one of our psychics started for clarification today.
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