I struggle with my variant of this from time to time and then have to do some gymnastics to get myself out of it and back to a good place. The best piece of counsel I ever received about this general topic was from an old-timer at an AA meeting in Atlanta, who grabbed me after the meeting and said: "You know, what other people think of you is actually none of your business."

It was so simple and so brilliant, I almost didn't get it. But then I did. Now, it helps me when I get caught up in worrying what others are thinking of me. Because the truth is, it isn't any of my business. It is theirs.