Opinions - Voluntary or Involuntary?

The opinions of other people don't pay your bills. Don't allow them to take up your time and energy.   

People have opinions and people will have opinions. They just don't have a choice. It will not be wrong to say that having an opinion is the default settings of us humans. Forming an opinion or an image is a part of the process of understanding our environment. We all do it all the time. 

Try this. The next time you are in a public place, observe some random stranger. If you observe the stranger/s AND your thoughts about them, you will realize that you are already forming an opinion about them without even noticing it. ('He is fat. Must be unfit.' 'She is overeating. Must be depressed.' 'He is talking rudely. Must be an egoistic person.') We think that we are minding our own business but a part of our brain is already busy in forming an image / opinion about others. 

Following factors play an important part in the formation of opinions - 

1. Our experiences

2. Our beliefs

3. Information that we gain from the environment

If you see any opinion that you have about anyone or anything these factors have played a part in forming the same. The opinion may or may not be true. There is a very large chunk of information that you may not have especially while forming opinions about people / things / situations that you know nothing about. But each and every one of us WILL form an opinion, whether we express it or not is a different matter altogether. 

So why do we have opinions?

As mentioned above, we form opinions as a part of studying our environment and knowing where exactly we fit into it. Our brain processes the information that it receives and forms a picture to try to discern our place in the scheme of things. It is a subconscious and an involuntary process. Many a times we do not even know that we have formed an opinion till we really need to express it or think about it. 

The question is....

The question is, do you really need to be bothered about the opinions of others? The answer is of course NO, unless it is a person that really matters / is an expert whose opinion you value or you have asked for that person's opinion on the issue. If somebody still expresses one's opinion on your choices or life, just ignore it and there is no need to get worked up. (Use your common sense. Sometimes you may need to react or counter the person to prevent the spread of misconceptions about yourself.)         

The same applies other way around. Be discrete about expressing your opinions unless asked for or it is relevant. Otherwise keep it to yourself. 

You cannot stop people from having opinions. They will be there. You can of course make it clear to them that their opinions cannot and should not be expressed because they are based on their biased perception of the situation. 

And remember, it works both ways. It applies to you too.