APX-IV-0015
“I've been letting fear of judgment stop me from acting like myself.”
Other people's judgments are their business. You cannot control what they conclude. What you can control is whether you let those conclusions determine your behavior. Acting from fear of judgment is just another form of giving your will to someone else.
Your Practice
Pick one situation this week where you've been performing instead of just being yourself. In that situation, do one thing exactly as you would if no one were watching. Track the outcome. Reality is almost always less punishing than fear predicts.
The Architects
“Seek not the good in external things; seek it in yourself.”
— Epictetus, Epictetus, Discourses III.22 (On the Calling of a Cynic), Matheson translation