2007-03-20 03:45:06 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
A bit of both.
i think it is important to live to your own standards,because for example in matters of love only you turly know what is right for you.
but it is also important to listen to those around us becaue they to make a fair point.
my sister gave me some good advice once:
"if you try to live your life making other people happy constantly you will never be happy yourself"
2007-03-20 06:41:16 · answer #1 · answered by rockchick 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I consider my own standards first. They are my guide for what I should do. After that I consider whichever other people are involved (loved ones in my personal life, boss and co-workers at work, professors and classmates at school, etc.). After I have considered what others will think, though, I come back to my own standards. Sometimes I will adjust from my original standard to meet the demands of others (if I deem it appropriate to do so, and it doesn't require some kind of compromise of my integrity), but I only ever take the opinions of others under advisement (I care more or less about other people depending on how important the person is to me and how much I respect their opinions). I still use my own view as a standard against which I measure the importance of others.
I have found that giving too much regard to the opinions of others is self defeating. If you live by your own standards, at least you will be happy with yourself, which is the most important thing. You cannot be happy with yourself if you behave in a way that you dislike, even if it pleases others. On the other hand, if you live by your own standards, then the kind of people whose opinions matter to you will agree with what you do. Some will still disagree, but those are the people whose opinions probably wouldn't have mattered much to you anyway.
I saw this cheesy quote on a website once: "Do what you want and be who you are, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter won't mind."
2007-03-20 13:22:19 · answer #2 · answered by IQ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ultimately, you live your life according to your own standards; but that is not to say that your own standards aren't shaped by the opinions of others.
2007-03-20 10:50:13 · answer #3 · answered by Leo C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most often I consider the opinions of my friends above all others because I don't have too many close friends that I trust, and those I do keep, I respect greatly. Ultimately I live as best as I can according to God's will for me.
2007-03-20 10:48:17 · answer #4 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
both.. i live my life according to my own standards absolutely but at the same time i listen to the opinions of others, i think we all do that.. good question though
2007-03-20 11:03:00 · answer #5 · answered by .:*BeAuTiFuL*:. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have found that other people's opinions of me are not important. They generally say what they think I want to hear but live their lives differently.
If I have to be lied to, I would much prefer lying to myself.
In truth, I observe what goes on around me because it shows me who people really are while posturing themselves in a different manner. When they think no one is seeing them, they act so oddly - they reveal the real ones behind the masks.
I learned that we all are complex creatures who, try as we might, always will show who we are, what we are made of, how we think, every time, irrespective of what we say.
This morning, a woman a devout Jehovah's Witness, swore in company that she cannot lie; that she does not lie. Hmm! Well, I reminded her that she was lying just by uttering that statement since she sat in front of me recently and told a stranger she was my secretary.
She still tried to say that she did not do so as a rule. But I went on to inform her that what is in the man comes out of the man. She said, "That's true!"
I will never be a paragon of virtue, so I do not try to impress upon anyone that I wear a halo. I mess up and that's that. But, if I must, then let it be my mess.
2007-03-20 12:33:50 · answer #6 · answered by SANCHA 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is nothing that one can call ones own. Even our thoughts, desires and psychology are products of the interaction between various influences and experiences. So every thing I do is influenced by what is around me (including others opinions) whether I wish it or not.
2007-03-20 11:58:05 · answer #7 · answered by smartobees 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I consider others as gist for the mill of my own thought. I arrive at my own conclusions and sometimes find that I am of the same opinions as others.
2007-03-20 11:42:53 · answer #8 · answered by Sophist 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have no idea if i'm living my life according to any standards... others opinions.. i really don't care about them but sometimes all what those opinion can do to me is to damage my soul... so... i don't care anymore.. i just believe in myself !
2007-03-20 11:17:13 · answer #9 · answered by nobody100 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Both. If I went solely on my own opinion, I would have no friends. Having at least a few friends is important enough to me to be flexible.
2007-03-20 11:07:48 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋