It's rarely personal

If there’s anyone on this planet who suffers from Main Character Syndrome, it’s me. But I think it’s natural. Everyone sees the world through their own perspective, so it’s easy to feel like everything revolves around you.

Over time, though, I’ve realized that the things people do — whether they affect you directly or not, negatively or not — usually have nothing to do with you. Most of the time, people aren’t even actively thinking about you, let alone in the way you think about yourself. You’re often just a peripheral thought, if that.

This isn’t malicious; it just is. Learning this has helped me understand that people’s actions are often more a reflection of themselves or their circumstances than anything to do with me.

This realization has made managing my feelings when things happen easier and navigating interpersonal situations clearer. It’s not always simple, but it’s a perspective that’s helped me move through the world with less friction.