On Knowing Yourself

One of the most important things in life, I think, is to know yourself. I say this because over the years people are going to have lots of opinions about you. Some of those opinions you will hear upfront, while others you will hear whispered behind your back, and I hate to break it to you, but not all of those opinions are going to be favorable. Obviously some people will speak well of you, but others are going to say cruel, terrible and sometimes completely false things about you and your character. This is something that we all go through, and the fact is that we cannot control what other people think. We just...can't. I'm sorry, but it’s impossible, and if you try to do so you will only drive yourself mad. Therefore, I feel it is important that we attempt to control not so much what we hear, but how we handle what we hear. Knowing who you are will enable you to have a much clearer idea as to who you ought to take seriously and who you ought to dismiss.