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
“Taking a new step, uttering a new word is what they fear most.”
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment, Part I, Chapter 1 (Raskolnikov's interior monologue), Constance Garnett translation