Do opinions affect you?

Do opinions affect you?

Well, it’s been a while since I last wrote here—mainly because of some opinions and comments.

Last year, I made a commitment to myself to write more—at least one post a day sharing what I was learning or my thoughts on a given topic.

To give a bit of context, I’ve always really enjoyed writing since I was very young, but at some point I completely stopped. I also reduced how much I was reading, and I think one habit ended up affecting the other. So in January 2025, I decided to bring those habits back and started reading and writing daily again.

Getting back to the point of this post, I heard some opinions suggesting that I was exposing myself too much or trying to get attention. At the same time, I was going through some challenges in life and at work, so I decided to simply stop posting—and I did. I stopped writing here entirely.

It’s interesting that, even with other things happening that were demanding more of my attention, other people’s opinions—though I know they weren’t meant to discourage or criticize me—ended up influencing that decision. And that’s exactly what motivated me to write this reflection: how many times do we stop doing what we want because of what others say?

It’s important to listen to others—feedback helps us grow—but it’s even more important to listen to ourselves, to do what we believe is right and what we enjoy, regardless of other people’s opinions. Of course, responsibly—but how many times have we stopped doing something we like because of a joke or a comment from someone close to us that made us second-guess ourselves?

I’ve decided to start writing again, beginning here with this article. My posts tend to be more about reflections I have about life, and I’ll gradually get back into sharing them.