“It’s the biggest reason so many people are unhappy right now. Because they value someone else’s opinion more than their own.”

“To have a winner’s mentality, you have to stop caring what other people think. You’ve gotta get quiet in your own head.”

I listen to Gary Vee a lot and this is something I hear him say all the time. Stop worrying about what other people think. Stop letting the fear of someone not liking you or disagreeing with you dictate what you do and who you are.

Easier said than done, right?

So to help in this regard, here it is, from me to you…

I am someone else. I am a part of that elusive “Everyone else” that we are all so afraid of.

I’m one of the many who scrolls past your posts on Instagram. Sometimes I read the caption, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I leave a like to be supportive, or because I like the image, or because I like the caption, or because I like you. And sometimes I don’t leave a like at all.  I am someone who follows and unfollows, double taps, skips stories and sends story reactions.

And I want to take this post to say: I don’t want you to worry about me.

From One in Everyone, you can be who you want to be, you can say what you want to say. You can follow your path, you can run after your dreams loudly and whole heartedly and I won’t judge you for it.

I won’t sit behind my cell phone criticizing you. I promise I won’t scroll my feed thinking you’re too fat. Or too skinny. Or too pretty. Or not pretty enough. I won’t secretly hate you and if one day I decide I’m not your target audience, I’ll politely unfollow or mute. And that’s okay. It’s okay if you do it to me too!  Because your feed should be filled with things that inspire and uplift you, not with things that serve me.

I don’t want to be part of the reason you don’t follow your dreams.
I hope this helps get you to a place where this “Everyone Else” character no longer exists.
I hope that you set down that heavy box of fear and “what if’s” and leave your doubt behind.

If you feel the same way and want to share this message, friend you just copy paste, share, pin, do whatever you want with these words because maybe if we all agreed to not judge one another, all those hidden dreams will be found. 

Denise Karis is an Arizona photographer who enjoys musicals, Doctor Who and breakfast burritos. IG @denisekaris