Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People Think (Taming the Mammoth)

A third area the mammoth is present is anywhere you don’t feel comfortable making a decision without “permission” or approval from others.

Eventually, a mammoth-run person can lose touch with their AV entirely.

Some people are born with a reasonably tame mammoth or raised with parenting that helps keep the mammoth in check. Others die without ever reining their mammoth in at all, spending their whole lives at its whim. Most of us are somewhere in the middle—we’ve got control of our mammoth in certain areas of our lives while it wreaks havoc in others. Bei... See more

An irrational and unproductive obsession with what other people think of us.

We crave the Puppet Master’s approval more than anyone’s, and we’re so horrified at the thought of upsetting the Puppet Master or feeling their nonacceptance or ridicule that we’ll do anything to avoid it. When we get to this toxic state in our relationship with a Puppet Master, that person’s presence hangs over our entire decision-making process a... See more

With a weakened mammoth, it becomes possible to begin standing up for who you are and even making some bold changes—and when you watch those changes turn out well for you with few negative consequences and no regrets, it reinforces the epiphany and an empowered AV becomes a habit. Your mammoth has now lost its ability to pull the strings, and it’s ... See more

Step 1: Examine Yourself

The second place a mammoth hides is in the way-too-good feelings you get from feeling accepted or on a pedestal over other people.

The thing we all need to do is carve out certain sacred areas of our lives that must be in the hands of the AV and free of mammoth influence.