Why you’re giving away your happiness — and how to take it back
Stop letting other people’s opinions destroy your confidence (and your life)
Eddie was five.
He had a front-row seat to The Terminator being filmed right in front of his house.
Pretty epic, right?
A kid’s dream come true.
You ever had a moment that was so fuckin’ cool, you wanted to scream it from the rooftops?
Only to have someone look at you like, “That’s it?”
Yeah.
That’s the human equivalent of getting a puppy for Christmas and someone saying, “But where’s the cat?”
It happened to Eddie.
Eddie was five when The Terminator crew rolled up to his street, setting up cameras and lights like a scene out of some apocalyptic daydream.
Bright-eyed, mop-headed Eddie was buzzing like he’d just downed a gallon of Fanta, all because his mum said they were making a movie.
Now, I don’t know about you, but for any kid, this is a Golden Ticket-level event.
And the fact that it was The Terminator?
Well, future Eddie would have to take a seat for that one.
But it was enough for the younger version of him.
He sat on the lawn, blissfully rolling his toy car back and forth, while a dude in a punk jacket stomped past like he had somewhere way more important to be.
In Eddie’s world, he was in a movie.
Big deal.
Huge, actually.
To him, that was enough to hang his childhood pride on for years to come.
But, as Eddie grew up and started telling his friends about this once-in-a-lifetime cameo, people reacted like he’d just told them he was the ‘First Assistant Pencil Sharpener’ on some doomed-to-fail primary school project.
“So… you were just sitting there? No lines?”
“You didn’t meet Arnie?”
“That’s it?”
The mood?
Deflated — like someone had pulled out a balloon at a kid’s party just to watch it flop around, sad and limp, in the corner.
And it got to Eddie, man.
That spark of excitement, that “I was there!” energy?
Gone.
He stopped telling the story.
Why bother, right?
No one else cared.
The world shrugged.
And Eddie buried his moment.
But here’s the thing: Eddie let other people’s opinions shrink his joy down to the size of a pea.
You know that pea.
The one that gets lost in the freezer for five years and nobody misses it.
We do this all the damn time.
We let others chip away at our confidence and steal our victories like some joy-sucking Dementors in human form.
One sideways glance, one half-arsed “meh” from someone who couldn’t give less of a toss, and suddenly we feel like our achievement wasn’t all that special to begin with.
How we let others drain our joy quicker than a leaky bucket
Why do we do this?
Seriously, why is someone else’s opinion the yardstick we measure our self-worth against?
It’s like inviting someone over for a cuppa, and instead of complimenting your biscuits, they tell you your teapot’s ugly — and suddenly you’re questioning your entire life choice in home decor.
We’ve been there.
We all do it.
Eddie did it.
And he’s still doing it in his 40s.
He had this moment.
This golden nugget of his life story.
And yet, because other people weren’t wowed, he stuffed it into a dusty box alongside his other “meh” memories.
But here’s the rub: their reactions weren’t the problem.
It was Eddie’s decision to let their reactions decide how he should feel about it.
And that, dear reader, is where we all mess it up.
Why it’s time to stop letting others control your spotlight
Let me tell you something: other people do not get to decide how much joy you get to feel.
If we keep outsourcing our happiness, confidence, and sense of worth to the half-baked opinions of people who barely know what they want for dinner, let alone how to validate your life, we’re gonna end up with a lot of empty boxes.
Eddie?
He’s you, me, all of us — sitting there, hiding our ‘big deal’ moments because other people didn’t get it.
Imagine if Eddie had turned around and said, “Damn right I was in The Terminator! I’m basically the godfather of that movie.”
But no.
He let them trample his enthusiasm like someone stepping on a freshly fried doughnut.
Don’t let others’ lukewarm reactions trick you into thinking your experiences are worthless.
Why your achievements don’t need to impress everyone else
Fast-forward to present-day Eddie, sitting in a bar.
His childhood moment now just a footnote, a shrug, a “no big deal.”
But later, after a few pints, Eddie goes home and digs out that VHS.
And for the first time in years, he lets himself feel proud again.
He watches himself, little Eddie, sitting on that lawn in his moment of glory.
And suddenly, it’s enough for him.
Screw everyone else.
He knows what that moment meant.
It was real.
And that’s all that matters.
If there’s one takeaway here, it’s this: you don’t need anyone else’s permission to celebrate your own wins.
Eddie stopped telling his story because other people didn’t care, but guess what?
Their indifference doesn’t make it any less of a win for him.
Whether you’re in a blockbuster film, finishing a marathon, or finally fixing the leaky sink, your moment is yours.
Own it.
Don’t let anyone piss on your parade, because, frankly, it’s your bloody parade, and you should be dancing in the rain, mate.
Quit waiting for applause and start cheering for yourself
Eddie’s story is the story of all of us.
We’ve all had moments we were proud of, but we let other people’s indifference steal that pride.
Stop doing that.
Next time you catch yourself diminishing your own achievements because someone gave you a blank stare or didn’t throw a parade, remember Eddie.
The next time you accomplish something, don’t look around for the applause.
Just celebrate it.
And if someone doesn’t think it’s impressive?
That’s on them.
You were there.
You know the value.
And that is enough.
Celebrate your wins.
And if anyone else has a problem with it?
Well, they can go and fuck themselves!
You’re in control of your spotlight now.
So go on, shine.
Even if it’s just for you.
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