As humans living in a time when there are many varying opinions voiced more often than they ever were, we find ourselves scratching our head at times. From birth plans, to stay at home moms or working moms, to vaccinate or not, to our eating needs such as raw vegan, meat, dairy...the idea of a massive variety of dieting options such as keto, paleo, mediterranean, DASH etc. We have opinions on education, government decisions, the dangers of EMF, cancer causing foods/chemicals, religion & spirituality and so much more, we are often overwhelmed with so many decisions to make in our life and opinions always matter. When I say opinion, I don't mean fact. Opinions are not always based on facts, they are often based on a feeling and emotion, a learned belief passed down generationally. When we think about food for example, some of us are really in tune with intuitive eating, others are not and they eat without thinking about it at all. Some of us make decisions after doing a lot of research first, others simply hear an opinion from someone they respect and they act upon it and make a decision because they are trusting someone else knows the best answer for them.
You see, we all have an opinion about many topics. Some of us fear judgement so we keep our opinions to ourselves, some of us keep our opinions to ourselves just because we don't need validation. And yet, some of us fear judgement, but we believe in something so strongly that we decide to share it, because we actually feel that others will relate and benefit from hearing someone else voice what their opinion is.
Personally for me, I have been careful to voice my opinion with others (especially on social media). I am not a political person, and any political views that I have I know that they are not always based on facts at all. But when something feels so strongly to me, I voice it openly and I realize that my opinion may not be received well by everyone. For example; when our Prime Minister made marijuana legal in our country, I was angry. I have many personal reasons why this stirred up emotion for me and while others were thrilled with this decision, they also had their own personal reasons why this was a good thing, when I thought it was the most ridiculous decision I've heard made by a political leader in my life. But here is the thing, we all have the right to have our opinions and NO ONE has the right to judge a person based on their opinions, because we all have a reason why we believe or think a certain way.
When I posted today about something that happened to one of our Canadian Icons (again my opinion), I almost didn't post about it (because of fear of sounding political), but my opinion was just that, an opinion, a belief a way of thinking. When we feel a certain way it doesn't mean that everyone must think the same as we do. But it also shouldn't stop us from sharing our own opinions.
When you speak your personal truth, you will impact others (negatively or positively), and both are ok. If it impacts another person negatively - this isn't yours to prove or convince. You are not here to teach people why they should believe what you believe and you also don't have to let another person's opinion affect you. If someone believes 100% opposite to you, let them. We all have a right to our opinion without judgement or justification. We may simply be seeing what others believe and it gives us a chance to see the same topic from a different perspective...and that is always a win! But when you impact someone positively with your opinion that is a great gift also...because sometimes that person is too afraid to voice their opinion, but when they read or hear you speak about yours and they agree with you, you've somehow made them feel less alone. They feel worthy of having the same thoughts that you do, but they didn't know how to articulate it.
So my hope for you (if you read this far today) is that you will continue to share your opinion when you feel so strongly about it. That you will share how you feel (without needing to justify your reasons for feeling that way). I hope you will always respect yourself and others enough to know that your opinion isn't necessarily based on facts, but it is mostly always based on emotion and feelings - and your feelings are valid (so are others). That even if someone has a completely different opinion than you do, that you don't judge them for who they are, that you respect their freedom to choose what feels right for them. I also want to remind you that if someone responds negatively to you and your opinion, this isn't a time when you need to fight for your opinion, have the grace and respect to say thank you for your opinion, isn't it great that we can all believe what we wish to believe based on our own perspective.
We are all human, we are all thinking, caring, respectful, feeling human beings. We all have so much value to share and it is so great of us to realize that our opinion doesn't have to be that of everyone. It is ok to stand alone, it is ok to stand in a crowd, it is ok to be exactly who we are meant to be without worrying about how others will receive our opinion. Be you & share what is on your heart to share, even if it isn't status quo! If nothing else, you may just help others understand the value and importance of respecting the perspectives we all bring into this life!
You see, we all have an opinion about many topics. Some of us fear judgement so we keep our opinions to ourselves, some of us keep our opinions to ourselves just because we don't need validation. And yet, some of us fear judgement, but we believe in something so strongly that we decide to share it, because we actually feel that others will relate and benefit from hearing someone else voice what their opinion is.
Personally for me, I have been careful to voice my opinion with others (especially on social media). I am not a political person, and any political views that I have I know that they are not always based on facts at all. But when something feels so strongly to me, I voice it openly and I realize that my opinion may not be received well by everyone. For example; when our Prime Minister made marijuana legal in our country, I was angry. I have many personal reasons why this stirred up emotion for me and while others were thrilled with this decision, they also had their own personal reasons why this was a good thing, when I thought it was the most ridiculous decision I've heard made by a political leader in my life. But here is the thing, we all have the right to have our opinions and NO ONE has the right to judge a person based on their opinions, because we all have a reason why we believe or think a certain way.
When I posted today about something that happened to one of our Canadian Icons (again my opinion), I almost didn't post about it (because of fear of sounding political), but my opinion was just that, an opinion, a belief a way of thinking. When we feel a certain way it doesn't mean that everyone must think the same as we do. But it also shouldn't stop us from sharing our own opinions.
When you speak your personal truth, you will impact others (negatively or positively), and both are ok. If it impacts another person negatively - this isn't yours to prove or convince. You are not here to teach people why they should believe what you believe and you also don't have to let another person's opinion affect you. If someone believes 100% opposite to you, let them. We all have a right to our opinion without judgement or justification. We may simply be seeing what others believe and it gives us a chance to see the same topic from a different perspective...and that is always a win! But when you impact someone positively with your opinion that is a great gift also...because sometimes that person is too afraid to voice their opinion, but when they read or hear you speak about yours and they agree with you, you've somehow made them feel less alone. They feel worthy of having the same thoughts that you do, but they didn't know how to articulate it.
So my hope for you (if you read this far today) is that you will continue to share your opinion when you feel so strongly about it. That you will share how you feel (without needing to justify your reasons for feeling that way). I hope you will always respect yourself and others enough to know that your opinion isn't necessarily based on facts, but it is mostly always based on emotion and feelings - and your feelings are valid (so are others). That even if someone has a completely different opinion than you do, that you don't judge them for who they are, that you respect their freedom to choose what feels right for them. I also want to remind you that if someone responds negatively to you and your opinion, this isn't a time when you need to fight for your opinion, have the grace and respect to say thank you for your opinion, isn't it great that we can all believe what we wish to believe based on our own perspective.
We are all human, we are all thinking, caring, respectful, feeling human beings. We all have so much value to share and it is so great of us to realize that our opinion doesn't have to be that of everyone. It is ok to stand alone, it is ok to stand in a crowd, it is ok to be exactly who we are meant to be without worrying about how others will receive our opinion. Be you & share what is on your heart to share, even if it isn't status quo! If nothing else, you may just help others understand the value and importance of respecting the perspectives we all bring into this life!
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