Member-only story
Not Everyone Deserves Your Attention
Some just don’t..
I gave a presentation last week.
It wasn’t my best. I knew that. But I’d put real time into it, thought about it, and when I was up there… I gave everything I had. That part felt okay to me.
After that, most people said good things. My teacher said good things. And then one classmate said something different. Not mean exactly, just… not what everyone else was saying. And I’m going to be honest, for a second it got to me.
Because that’s kind of how our minds work. Ten good things, one not so good thing, and somehow the one thing is what I’m carrying around at the end of the day.
But this time something was different.
I noticed myself starting to replay what he said. Turning it over, wondering if he was right, wondering if everyone else secretly agreed and just wasn’t saying so. And then I kind of just… stopped. I asked myself, does this person’s opinion actually mean anything to me? Is this someone whose words should change how I feel about what I did?
And honestly? No.
That sounds harsher than I mean it. It’s not that his opinion doesn’t exist. It’s just that he doesn’t know my work. He doesn’t know what I put into it, where I’m trying to…
