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Lee-Ann Wann: Do I care too much about what people think?

Caring about what other people think has driven me to strive harder to reach my goals.

We quiz ourselves daily on the small stuff, yet the big questions, the ones that shape our lives, often go unaddressed. To help get you thinking this year, we’ve asked seven familiar faces to share their questions with us. Here is performance nutritionist and a health and fitness expert Lee-Anne Wann on the importance of other people’s opinions.

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I am pretty positive that caring about what other people think has been a major driving force in my life for a long time. It’s only when I sit down to ponder and reflect upon it that I start thinking it was perhaps something extremely positive in my life, while at the same time, one of the major players when it came to the lack of confidence, self-doubt, and self-sabotage I experienced.

Ever since I can remember, I have had feelings of not being good enough, strong enough, wise enough, fit enough, slim enough; the list could go on. I think many of us have been through such a list time and time again.

On the flip side, caring about what other people think has driven me to strive harder to reach my goals. I don’t believe we always have that 100 per cent positive, committed, unwavering dedication inside ourselves and sometimes calling on external influences kept me going.

Now, that might be right or wrong, but I have learnt with age not to care about that and accept the fact that is the way I’m wired, and instead try to figure out a way to use it and turn it into a positive. It was difficult at first to try to change that thought process; however, the more I kept doing it, the easier it became.

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I often say to my clients who want to be slim or want to tone their bum or lose that tummy that it’s not vain or silly; if that is your driver and you want to look good for yourself or other people, then simply use it.

Caring a little about what other people think can be a major driver to complete the extra five minutes of exercise, to choose good foods and make healthy decisions rather than worry and feel guilty about your thoughts.

My desire to study and learn comes from caring a lot about other people and what they think. I want them to think there is hope, that they can achieve their goals and they can find their ‘amazing’.

The more I learn and the more I study, the better equipped I am to help them believe in themselves again. You just cannot care too much, or care about the wrong people’s comments or thoughts.

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My mother always used to say those comments said more about the other person than they did about you, so I am going to continue heeding her wise advice.

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