The Opinion of Others II

This is a follow up to a post form the other day titled The Opinion of Others. It is suggested that you read it first.

The opinion of others carries a great weight with many people. It is one of the forces which prohibits the taking of action. Many allow what others will think to affect their decisions. Sadly, they allow the opinion of others, real or imagined, to dictate the quality of their lives.

Those who attain great success are able to banish out the thoughts of what others will think. It matters little to them. They operate from the premise "To thy own self be true". Often people are left standing on their own. It is then that one will uncover the resolve that resides within him or her. Some of the greatest successes occurred after others thought the person should quit. The Kentucky Fried Chicken story epitomizes how persistence has rewards.

That being said, there is a flip side to this discussion. There are ways to use the opinions of others to your benefit. Certainly we all know they will exist since nobody lives in a vacuum. Those closest to us have a way of expressing the thoughts they are having. It is best if we learn to use these tidbits of personal outlooks for motivation.

The example that best exemplifies this is exercise. Everyone knows that exercising makes one healthier which should improve the quality of one's life. Yet is this the reason that people do it. If you went to a gym and ask everyone in there why they were working out, I surmise health reasons would be low on the totem pole. The top answer would do with the fact that people want to look better.

Why do people want to look better? If you think about it, unless you are standing in front of a mirror all day, it is doubtful that you can see yourself and what you look like. This is not true for others. They can see you and see the differences in your physical demeanor. One who loses a far bit of weight receives immediate gratification whenever someone comments on how much better he or she looks. This is the payoff. The health results are an added bonus.

As you can see, the opinion of others can be positive on us if we use it for motivation. Whenever we are tired and want to blow off a workout, we need only think of the accolades awaiting us from those who are closest to us. This is where other's opinions can be helpful.

To take it one step further, what if the accolades came from the opposite sex? How much more impactful would this be? Everyone harbors the desire/fantasy to have the opposite sex swoon all over him or her. There is not a guy in the world who would not want to be treated like Brad Pitt. At the same time, most women want to have the attractiveness of Jennifer Aniston. The sexual appeal which eludes most of us is a tremendous motivator.

We all know sex sells. This is a truth in all walks of life. We live in cultures which base a great deal on physical attributes. People tend to do better when they have the physique society wants. Those who remember this are motivated by these external opinions for the betterment of themselves.

The other area that society puts emphasis is as it pertains to money. Money = success. This is the basis of judgment in the Western world. Those with money have power, prestige, and the trophy wife. It is that simple. Money is a tremendous motivator.

When it comes to money, does one want the actual currency or the numbers on a bank statement. Of course not. What is wanted is what the money can attain. Again, we go back to the power, prestige, and, most importantly, sex. It is the primary driver for so many of our decisions.

Money allows us to enter into an exclusive club. Have you ever noticed how a Kia is not considered a "chick magnet"? Why is that? Simple. They are easy to attain. Compare this to a Porsche which has a price tag 6-10 times the amount of the Kia. Only the most successful can drop this type of money on a car. This is what separates those people from the rest of us.

So how does this motivate one? Those who move into this income bracket have to work at a level that is not experienced by others. The successful work hard while building something that others cannot (or will not). Also, they take risks for higher rewards than the average person is willing to assume. While this might be a bit simplistic, the idea of being able to get most any person of the opposite sex is a primary driver. Often it is occurring without one's conscious knowledge.

The opinion of others can drive us to act. It has the ability to motivate us to create fantasitic outcomes which we would otherwise shy away from. The desire for sex is the greatest emotion when harnessed for good. Other will judge us in a way which will eventually lead to sex. Consider this in all that you do. Try to determine how you will benefit sexually from creating the life that you crave. Think of things which will make others envious. Envy is nothing more than an opinion which tells another person they want what you have. When you are at this point, you have used this outlook to your favor. Do what drives them crazy.

Use the opinion of others to your benefit. Be careful of what you focus upon since this technique is a double-edged sword. However, as you can see, it can be a force which propels you forward rapidly.