No One’s Watching You – Not Even Santa

Before I started writing this essay, I scoured the internet looking for one of my favorite quotations. I couldn’t find it, however, and instead ended up with quality gems like this: How to Not Care What People Think, a list of bulletpoints, tips, and meaningless self-hype lifehacks so long that part of me died inside knowing someone actually took the time to put it together. I wish I could attribute the insightful quotation to its original author, as I feel very strongly about giving credit where credit is due, but alas neither the source nor the quotation were to be found. This is my attempt at a faithful reproduction:

When I was 20, I cared what people thought about me.
When I was 40, I stopped caring about what people thought of me.
When I turned 60, I realized no one was thinking of me at all.
-Unknown (as of now)

This is one of those rare insights you read that actually adds some value to your understanding of life. While I had already contemplated this issue before reading that quotation, I wasn’t able to organize and express the thought as clearly and as eloquently as this particular author did.

In my experience, my journey has followed the basic structure that the author laid out, only I went through the accelerated program just a bit faster. At age 20, I cared what people though of me. A few years later, I stopped caring what people thought of me. And a few years later again, after reading this quotation, I realized no one was thinking of me at all.

Why was this empowering? Well, the reasons could be different for everyone. I admit I’m the kind of person who doesn’t naturally care what others think anyway, so perhaps this is more applicable to some than others. This realization empowers me because I used to spend time worrying about what others thought of me. I still care about how people view me to some extent – I’m human like that. It’s not such a terrible thing to care about how you are perceived. After all, its nice to be understood and not misrepresented. However, I probably thought a bit too much about what others thought. The truth is, most people have their own lives to worry about. I hardly ever worry about what my friends or family are doing. How much are they really thinking about me? Probably the same amount – maybe a little more or a little less. Whatever the case, if you’re not famous already, most people probably could care less about what you’re doing. No one is watching you make a fool of yourself – no one cares. Some people enjoy the spotlight, but I prefer the freedom that comes when I’m not being watched. I’m better able to concentrate on just being myself and doing what I need to do, and not worry about being judged or evaluated by anyone.

In some ways, it pays to fly under the radar, to not be successful or noticed yet. You have time to focus on the right things and get your attitude straight. There’s no one watching you mess up, and there’s not much pressure. Sometimes that can be a good thing – it makes the road to greatness a little easier. So, if you aren’t already famous or successful, chances are that most people aren’t watching you or thinking about you at all. That doesn’t give you a license to do whatever you want to do, including illegal, selfish, and immoral acts (I feel like I need to add these warnings, obvious as they are, because you never know what a person is going to think). The time should be used to experiment and fail spectacularly, even if it means looking a little stupid or foolish. Go ahead, no one’s watching – not even Santa.