You care. Yes you do. And that’s ok.

I say, “I don’t care what people think about my writing”, and then I check my Medium writing stats again.

I say, “It doesn’t matter how many people like my Facebook posts”, and then I login to Facebook to check.

Have you ever done this? Have you wished you didn’t care, and then went ahead and checked?

It’s normal.

Let me repeat. It’s normal.

We want people to like us. We want people to approve of us. If you are a writer, especially a sensitive type like me, you care.

I believe it’s part of being a sensitive person to care about what other people think. How can you not? You absorb the energy of other people, so of course you are going to want to know their reactions.

This is why I write. I want to tune in the needs of other people, and then try to help them celebrate themselves. My writing is all about that. It makes sense that if I care about helping other people that I am going to be interested in whether it helped them or not.

You clicked on this article. I am going to assume that you are a caring, compassionate person interested in bringing joy to other people. I would assume that you are also a person who is tune with how other are receiving you. I don’t think this is codependency. I think it’s about being a caring and loving person.

It’s when this attention on other people’s reactions prevents us from doing our work that is has become a problem.

How do we use this caring about other people’s reactions for our good?

Say thank you. Then say thank you again. And, again and again. Use the power of gratitude. Be humble about it. Be authentic. Really appreciate it when someone says they like your work. Connect with them. Let them know that you appreciate it. People like it when you acknowledge them.

Keep doing your work. Like I’m doing with this article. I was having a tough day until I just started writing this article. I feel better now that I have.

You care what other people think. Not because you are egocentric. You care, because you want to connect. You want to be a positive influence. But, don’t let it stop you from moving forward. Regardless of what people think, keep doing your great work in this world.

You are a blessing to this world. I want to be a blessing to you. I care about that. And, I’m ok with that.