Who cares what YOU think?

Think about that for a moment.  I’m not referring to the sarcastic, kiss-off version of that statement.  I’m referring to people in your life that really value your opinion.  People that look to you for advice or input on something that is important to them.  Or, how many people just care to hear what is on your mind or read your Twitter feed, your Facebook status, your random emails from late at night.  Think of all of the people that you know, are acquainted with or e-know…who of these people care what YOU think?

I don’t care what other people think!

Or…do you?  Do you really mean that when you say it?  It seems that most people that go out of their way to say they don’t care what others think are usually reacting to something that indicates their own thoughts or feelings were not taken into consideration.  Someone most likely implied to them “I don’t care what you think!”  Naturally, the reaction is to return the favor.  The simple fact is that everyone wants to feel important to someone else.  People want their thoughts to matter…to someone.  And when they don’t matter, it hurts.

Everyone is a critic.

Have you ever noticed that everyone reviews movies these days?  Everyone has an opinion and everyone wants to share it.  Just look at comments on movies at IMDB.  I’ve never seen so many essays that assume they have the only “correct” interpretation.  I’ve never seen so many people being judged for their opinion…hold on…yes I have seen that before!  Try looking through the comments on YouTube I find it actually quite frustrating to see so much negativity and grand-standing! Perhaps it’s an American thing, perhaps it’s a human thing, but it sure seems to me that everyone thinks their opinion is the right one and there is no tolerance for other opinions. (Let’s not even get started on politics!)
Maybe all the naysayers are looking for is a little attention for themselves. And you know what? That isn’t so bad.  We all can relate…right?  Yes, I think so…just think about your response for a minute or two, maybe hold some of the profanity…and perhaps consider using lowercase letters as well as uppercase!

So, where is this going?

I’m not sure it’s going anywhere really.  And that may be part of my point I guess.  Who REALLY cares what you write in your blog?  I am not making the assumption that anyone really cares about reading these words right now!
But I can assume that everyone can think of someone who values their opinion and thoughts…and maybe you should just take a moment and think about those people…thanks guys, you rock!