Other's good opinions...

I've been thinking lately how much we care about other people's opinions. It creeps in to our lives in so many ways and can have a significant impact on what we do or how we do things. I was riding my bike this afternoon along the trail, going up the fairly long hill by our house. There were people walking, and I kept thinking - I hope I can make it up this hill, or they are going to think - what a wimp, she can't make it up the hill the whole way! Why do I even care what they think or don't think? I have no clue who they are, and will probably never see them again. Yet I was trying to avoid having them think less of me. When I finally got home, I was thinking about a book I wanted to order from Amazon. So I was thinking I should read the other reviews of the book online to decide whether I really wanted to get it. Then it struck me how silly that was! Here I am, basing my decisions on what other people think, and I have no idea who they are or if they even like the same things I do! They could be 90 year old grandmas or 15 year old teens, or atheists or monks or whatever! Yet I am again basing my decisions on what other people think. Granted, this is kind of a trival example, but it will be interesting to see how many other ways people I don't even know influence me...