“Don’t Take Anything Personally: Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.”

– Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements

Just like I will use John Lennon and Gandhi quotes all the time, I will also quote Don Miguel Ruiz. His books are BRILLIANT, this one in particular. I have to recite this quote to myself a lot and I find that I say it a lot to friends as well. It is so important to remember this “agreement.”

If someone says or does  something hurtful to you, remember that this is a projection of what’s going on in their life and it has NOTHING to do with you. Don’t internalize what other people say unless you know it is warranted.  There is nothing worse than trying to figure out what you did wrong when you actually didn’t do anything wrong, apologizing for something you didn’t do or judging yourself based on someone else’s words and opinion.

We all succumb to unneeded suffering and a skewed sense of oneself based on the harmful words and actions of others. If we can remind ourselves daily that we have control over only one person in this life, we can avoid this needless pain and distress and spend more time focusing on being the best person we can be.

Really, if you haven’t read this book, click below and buy it, borrow it, get it somehow.