I've heard people say that, whatever you do, people will always have something to say. This is quite true. It could seem like one's effort to put up a certain view about themselves out there can be totally ignored, and then people see and say what they want based on their imaginations, or some scenarios. Perhaps, this is one of the perks of living with people. Something will always be said or perceived. People could have several opinions about a person, aside from what they thinks they really are.
There's this common statement which suggests, you shouldn't care about what others say about you. Your opinion and what you think is what matters. Quite helpful I'll say. However, I like to see beyond and say that, perhaps not all are just ramblings. Some of the things can be true, but when the mind is subjected to a view that this is it, and nobody can say anything about it, it takes away the place of assessments, even from others that could be genuine. That's my concern with such an extreme.
There are things we know about ourselves and there are others that it could be the unusual and unwelcome help of others to find out. There's a thing about us as humans that makes it reasonable that we have one another. Not just for friendship or companionship, but to be able to bring us to light about some of the things we are or that we do. I don't dispute the falsehood of this from some people around us in the guise of helping. But more than that, some are really genuine.
I know some very important things about myself, tested and noted overtime that it will be hard to accept other perceptions from others. Well, after giving time to consider when it seems necessary. But still, I presume and recognise there are things I might not really be aware of. Things that I haven't possibly taken time to consider or evaluate. Like when I was confronted about one of my emotional responses. I never thought of that, though there were hints. After that, I considered it, saw that it was true and made a conscious effort to change.
At the same time, as mentioned, there are opinions about me from others that stemmed from misunderstanding or wrong perceptions. While I try to debunk some and make the people understand it's not true, others; especially when it's a vehement, unchanging conclusion and not just a growing perception, I let the person have the day. Funny enough, this is to my advantage in some cases. And that makes me realise the other side of things; people will always have a perception of you that could be far from what or who you are.
Wrong perceptions never feel good, and I've learnt that you let some of such slide, while not totally discrediting all, as that might just be another attitude to work on. Also, not to let the good things said about me and my positive perceptions make me fail to see the negative side of things.