Last updated on September 25th, 2023
You have people or situations in life that remind you of your weakness; you just wish to ignore them hard, but you can’t. Or maybe, you have to deal with the people who play an important role in your life, and that’s why you can’t ignore them even if your soul is fed up. Amid this, when you reach out to a friend or a counsellor, their best advice could be “Learn to ignore. It’s vital for your mental health”.
And I am sure that your list is very long. Let me remind you you’re not alone in this war. Everyone including me is on the same page in this regard. At present, you might be trying to ignore unnecessary but energy-consuming thoughts, criticism, people’s opinions about you, copying others’ life and their lifestyle, comparing yourself and your destiny to others, societal pressure, following your ex’s life activities, jealousy, your past, a will to keep everyone’s happy, the temptation to say yes even when you want to say ‘no’ and so on.
Weak People Revenge. Strong People Forgive. Intelligent People Ignore.
But, wait…have you found the solution yet? I think you haven’t and that’s why you’re here reading this article. Or might be, that you have learnt to ignore a few particular things but have failed to deal with others.
So, without wasting more time talking about your problems, let’s come to a solution straightforward. The solution is in one simple question itself: ‘Why do you fail to ignore the things that bother you?’
Once you find the answer to your question, you get a solution as well. And, it’s only you who can figure out this. Let’s find out why you fail to ignore the unnecessary and unproductive stuff and continue to distort your mental health.
Why You Fail to Ignore Things That Bother You
There can be the following reasons why you don’t hold control over yourself and let go of things and people. For that, you need a self-assessment test here. You need a quality of a few honest self-talk sessions. This is not to point out your weaknesses, but rather to lead you to the path of self-improvement.
Please don’t forget, that nobody is perfect. So, if you find out that you have some kind of weakness like jealousy, please don’t degrade yourself or take offence for that. The key is to find your weaknesses, once you find them, you can accept them, and you’re sorted then.
Now, please try to know why you fail to ignore things. The reason might be because:
1. You compare yourself to others
You are unable to ignore things around you because you are stuck to these unnecessary thoughts: “If I ignore the modern trends, they will call me old-fashioned. If I don’t wear that tight uncomfortable dress which is in trend these days, I am not going to look good.”
And here you are failing to ignore people’s criticism and judgement!
This is quite common, I’d say. But trust me, this is a very unfair comparison. You are unnecessarily comparing yourself to others because you have an inferiority complex or you don’t know how to be your original self.
This ends up deteriorating your mental health so much. Because you lose your original self and try to force someone else’s style on yourself.
How to stop comparing yourself
Don’t be socially sensitive and stop following every single trend your social circle is following. Learn to ignore copying others. For this, you have to start accepting yourself the way you are. If you want to learn this, please go through this article,
Self-acceptance: 11 Ways to Accept Your Reality the Way It Is
You must learn that you can look beautiful in your own way. Create your style. Remember if you are uncomfortable in a dress, you will never look confident. And beauty is all about confidence. Ignore what people say for now.
Try to impress yourself with your charm first, gradually you will see, that people like you the way you are. If you wish to stay simple, remember the saying “Simple living and high thinking”.
A particular thing that is the source of happiness to others, makes you feel miserable. So, don’t copy others. Learn to ignore criticism.
2. You are jealous
Often, you are surrounded by these emotions: “They are enjoying their life, planning holidays, getting a promotion, and so on. This is what I wanted and got unlucky but they are fulfilling their dreams.”
And thus how you fail to ignore jealousy & energy-consuming thoughts!
This thought process can drive you crazy to the extent that you don’t know. Jealousy can cause anger, sadness, and resentment and thus ruin your mental health. It’s not uncommon though, you need to do something to protect your mental health and experience a sense of freedom.
How to not be jealous
Here are the things which can help you learn to ignore jealousy and other negative things. Set yourself free:
- Learn to be patient and consistent.
- Ignore your thoughts about being unlucky.
- Learn to believe in yourself.
- Just believe in the God/ universe you believe in.
- Remember, nothing is permanent here so is not bad luck. It happens to everyone. It’s not your fault at all.
- Time whether good or bad will pass quickly.
- Practice gratitude.
- Have instant coping techniques like writing down, self-talk, meditation or something else.
The existence of the Universe is such that nobody is going to have permanent success, permanent failure.
3. You compare your destiny to others
“Why am I still unmarried? Why was my childhood so stressful? Why did I not get this job despite being more than qualified for it?” And countless questions lead to stealing your peace. Once they start coming to your mind, it’s difficult to ignore them.
Look, this is how you fail to not compare your destiny to others!
The only solution to this problem is that you should learn to focus on your present. You should try to live your destiny and enjoy what you have.
How to live your destiny instead
Uff…! That seems to be very easy to hear, but impossible to follow :(.
But you should keep reminding yourself that everyone’s destiny is not the same and changing destiny is not at your hands. This is how it becomes possible to get rid of this emotion.
Ask yourself, “Why are you forgetting that what is yours, will come to you anyhow”? You can read about this in Bhagavad Gita. The principle of Karma is very well explained there.
Or read this article,
Karma Yoga: a 5000-year-old healing technique to find peace in a devastating situation.
4. You want to keep everyone happy
This is the most common tendency found in people usually. You want to keep everyone happy. Because you want to earn extra points from them by always saying the ‘yes’ word. You just don’t want to get judged by saying ‘no’.
In short, you are living for everyone except for yourself!
And this is how you fail to ignore negative things ‘What will people say? & How will they manage without me?”
How to get rid of this habit
Learn to ignore negative things. Just live for yourself. Sounds simple? But it is not. But, you have no other option either. So, practice it. Practice self-care. Think like this: you have to ignore their happiness for a while to protect your mental health. Once you’re happy, you can save your relationships again.
Here are the following things you can do to prioritize yourself:
- Don’t feel guilty when you get up late in the morning.
- Stop blaming yourself for the things you’re not responsible for.
- Eat the things that you like most. Cheating is good sometimes.
- Don’t always feel guilty for releasing your emotions.
- Remember anger isn’t always unhealthy but don’t overdo it. Learn to control it.
And if you want to learn to say ‘no’, you should read this article;
5. You are under pressure from society
Several unhealthy thoughts are always running in your mind. Your thought process goes like this:
“I am still learning. I have a dysfunctional family. I am going to die because of shame if I make mistakes. I will never achieve my goals and because of this, I would be a laughing stock for them.“
And you fail to ignore/avoid societal pressure!
Let’s figure out now what you can do to stop and ignore this war in your mind.
How to ignore societal pressure
Being a social person is good but ask yourself: “Do you want to sacrifice your happiness for the sake of a fake image?” Everything comes last be it society, ambition, fame, or career. Just focus on what makes you happy first.
Ask yourself these questions to deal with peer pressure:
- Who will be responsible if I am not happy after killing my dreams, society or me?
- Are they genuinely concerned about my happiness? If not, why should I care?
- Am I alone who is going under this pressure?
- Is this going to matter after 5 years when I would have sorted out all my problems?
Related,
Value yourself: Know how I recognized my self-worth
6. You live in your past
Let me know if you have these types of thoughts:
“My ex is getting married. That incident took everything from me. Nothing is left for me and I will be ruined and nothing is ever going to be positive to me.”
If yes, you are failing to ignore your past!
Because you would not have given a damn about the life activities of your ex or haven’t reacted to a past incident if you truly had moved on with your life. Whether you accept it or not, you’re living in your past!
How to live in the present moment
So, you have accepted it now that you need to walk away from past incidents and people. Try to do the following things now to love in the present:
- Believe in the power of the present moment.
- Work hard and have faith.
- Believe in your skills.
- Say to yourself: “You will get what you have been destined for.”
- Be patient and see what God has planned for you.
- Patience will help you get rid of this emotion.
Gradually you will develop the power of looking forward to your future rather than living in the present.
Read,
9. You don’t know how not to ignore your happiness
You prioritize everything over yourself. It happens because you feel guilty. You have a family, kids, and spouse to take care of. You often ignore your health by thinking it should come first. So, you put yourself last.
In short, you don’t know how to practice self-care. You have guilt, fear, and everything to not take care of yourself. But you need to change yourself, dear! It won’t happen out of the blue. You have to learn it step by step.
How to practice self-love
Learn to ignore everything that limits your freedom. Nobody else can help you here but yourself. Learn to ignore putting yourself last. Learn not to ignore your happiness and health. Learn to give time to yourself.
These articles could be of help,
- Listen to Music to Improve your Overall Mental Health
- Self-care is not selfish. How to practice it?
- Have your life mantras to find sanity
It’s your life, learn to be happy
You must have figured out by now what’s stopping you from unburdening your soul from unnecessary people and stuff. Now, it’s time to be happy. Practising the following things can make your life more beautiful.
You might like,
- 15 quotes to lift your mood instantly
- 40 positive things to say to yourself daily
- 30 Quick Stress Buster Activities (Awaken Your Inner Child)
a) Leverage your purpose
Leverage your purpose to help and serve someone else, not for money. You can give moral support to someone. That might mean helping them pursue their dreams, or supporting them to reach their fitness goals.
Whatever gives your life meaning, give it to someone freely. You will feel different (1).
b) Leverage your passion to help
Leverage your passion to help someone else. For example, if you’re a teacher, give free classes to those who cannot go to school. If you’re passionate about cooking, cook something and distribute the food to needy ones.
If you play an instrument, raise money for it and donate to someone. You can also give 2 out of your 10 classes free.
c) Simplicity in your character
Add the word ‘Simplicity’ to your character dictionary. Changing living styles can overcome stress and improve your mental health.
Being simple is classy; living with simplicity gives peace; simplicity is just awesome. In Hindu Vedic Texts, simplicity leads to salvation.
d) Control your mood swings
Reach out to a counsellor for that or you can try Yoga poses to improve mental health and meditation.
Similar articles you might want to read,
- How to let go of your anger
- How to get rid of negative thoughts quickly
- Do an X-ray of your thoughts to make better decisions in life
Wrapping up
It’s your life. There would be problems, hurdles, and criticism. If you give your ear to every criticism, they will hinder your progress and your health as well.
You must have to learn how to ignore unnecessary stuff and how to take criticism healthily. You have to learn how to calm your mind in mid of anxiety and make the castle through the pelted stones at you.
And, try to be the reason for someone’s happiness. Spread happiness.
Further Reading:
- 43 Fun Things To Do At Home To Reduce Stress & Boost Productivity
- Losing Your Peace of Mind: Figure Out Why You’re Not Happy
If you liked the article, share it with someone you care about!!
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Sonia Chatterjee says
Mental health is such an essential thing to talk about and I’m so glad to see a few of my blogger friends do a commendable job in spreading awareness.
Srishti says
Yes, it is a very serious issue which is overlooked often. Especially, in India, each segment of society needs mental health awareness. Glad you liked my work. Thanks for reading my post;)
Noor Anand Chawla says
Learning to ignore is an ability we all need to have, but rarely adopt. Very informative post!
http://www.nooranandchawla.com
Srishti says
Thanks for liking my post:)
Samira Gupta says
Loved the topic itself and thereafter the tips given by you. Really very important if we want to lead a happy and peaceful life.
Srishti says
Yes, if we do not ignore unnecessary things in life. It becomes difficult to lead a happy life. Thank you for reading my article:)
akash says
Thank you for your article, hope you are having a good day ! 🙂
Srishti says
Hey, Akash! Welcome 🙂
nancy says
Thank you. I found this article had many truths for me. I am not good at taking care of myself first or I will be unhappy forever. You have many good suggestions to get me started listening to only that which helps me.
Srishti says
Glad you liked it 🙂
vahid says
This Article made me cry and it helped me calm down a bit. Now I know how to be happy by ignoring things that bother me. we (me and my people) are in the most difficult days in our life. I live in Iran, the country where you can find only sadness and extreme cruelty.
Thank you so much for such helpful article!
Srishti says
Hi Vahid, I am glad my words helped you calm down. I am sending prayers to you and your people. Thanks for your comment, it made my day 🙂