By Ana Billotti
Round Table editor
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Those 10 words can provide comfort and strength to people going through difficult times.
When people are told that they are not good enough, not strong enough or not smart enough, it lowers their self-esteem and makes them doubt themselves, but why do people allow themselves to believe that they are lesser than others. People let other’s words tear them down and make them doubt themselves. But in the end there is only one opinion that truly matters and that is their own. People just need to realize that.
A person addicted to an illegal substance or alcohol will not get help until they themselves realize that they do, in fact, need it. Regardless of what other people encourage them to do, the only opinion that matters is their own.
Not seeking help when it is blatantly obvious that the person is in need of it is not recommended, but people with addictions do on a certain level not accept other people’s opinions of them. Yes, they could benefit from the help of others, but their opinion of themselves helps them not feel inferior and compare themselves to others.
But that was negative image of not listening to others’ opinions. Let’s try a positive example.
When someone is being picked on, being told that they are stupid, short or ugly, those words can make a person feel worthless. If that person lets those words get to them.
Eleanor Roosevelt got it right when she said those 10 words. Feeling inferior can only be brought on when people themselves believes that they are inferior.
No one is worth less than anybody else; everyone is equal, so why should people listen to others’ negative comments about themselves?
No one knows somebody better than a person knows themselves. Yes, the other person can probably judge a person’s skills and abilities better because they see that person from the outside looking in. But the individual’s own true thoughts and feelings are that person’s and that person’s alone. When a person has confidence in themselves and a secure knowledge of their skills and abilities, then what other people say about them shouldn’t have any affect on them, unless it is in a positive light.
Being confident in the fact that what other people say doesn’t matter and allows the person to realize that no one can make them feel inferior without consent from themselves. When people are being teased and picked on, they should just keep in mind Eleanor Roosevelt’s words and remember that their opinions of themselves are the most important thing.
