Being liked

Why do we want other people to like us? Why do we want this so badly? I read this article during my lunch break and nearly laughed my ass off. It is kind of like, once upon a time, I told my friends this: who doesn't want to be loved?

I don't mind being liked, but I am not sure that my efforts are focused on being liked by others. This is because, quite frankly, I do not like everybody that I meet in this life. So with every single person, what I do is give respect, even when I don't like them. If I like them, I will get to know them, well, eventually anyway. At times, it was like instantaneous best-friend-like connection. It all differs depending on a lot of factors, so really, it is not an indicator of how much I like the people in question.

There was a time whereby I was so desperate to be liked. Man, I hated myself then. I was trying to be someone I am not and subsequently, I came across as someone fake. I was fake. Needless to say, ever since, I have learnt the errors of my ways and changed my approach. I stopped caring about what other people think. They do not know me and they do not know my life and they are certainly not living my life. I am the one who has to be comfortable with my own decisions and how I project myself with those sort of decisions. So really, as long as I am comfortable, other people be damned.

I have always admired those who are genuinely comfortable in their own skins. I admire even more those who can do so while maintaining a level of respect for people whose choices are different than theirs. Because that is what being truly comfortable with oneself is all about.