Uh-oh! Here they go again! It seems that every time you as much as blink, someone else has got their honker in your business- telling you how you ought to do things, how you should act, telling you how you should live your life and having the chutzpah to think they can make your decisions for you. Let’s face it, the world is full of nosy people.

And if you are a target of bullying, you will have others trying to invade your life, your personal business, and your boundaries. And let me tell you, when it seems that no one will let you lead your own life in peace, life can go from enjoyable to unbearable real quick. That’s why you must be assertive in cases like this.

Understand that you can’t please everyone and you shouldn’t even try to.

Put simply, the only ones you must live your life for is God, your family, your closest and most trusted friends, and yourself.

Too many people care what the wrong people think of them- the wrong people, meaning bullies, toxic people- people they don’t like. Realize that you aren’t living their life, you’re living yours. So, you must make decisions that best fit the situations and circumstances surrounding your life.

You must do what’s best for you, not what’s best for them, or, rather, what others want you to do. Half the time, they don’t even know what they want nor what’s best for them. So, how can they claim to know what’s best for you if they haven’t a clue what’s best for their own lives?

You must do what makes you healthier, what makes you feel good, and what makes you whole. You must do what fulfills you, not other people. Don’t worry about them. It’s up to them to make their lives easier and pleasant. It’s not your responsibility. Just the same, it’s up to you to make your life better, it’s not their place to do it.

There will always be others who want to insert their two cents where it isn’t needed, and they’ll be downright abusive about it. They’ll attempt to order you around or deride you over your life-decisions.

There will be those who will try to run your life and you should be prepared for it. But know that when they do this, they’re stepping out of their place, and you have every right to tell them to go kick rocks.

The old, popular 1990’s idiom, “All up in your koolaid and don’t know the flavor” wasn’t coined for nothing. And the sad thing is that most people don’t bother to lend a hand but they’re real quick to point a finger.

Understand that we each have responsibility over our own lives. Stop trying to spare the feelings of those who insist on sticking a nose where it doesn’t belong. Tell these people to keep their snouts out of your business. Your life is yours to lead, no one else’s. So, stop worrying about what others think and say of you. They may not like the way you live or think, but that’s their problem, not yours.  Your life and the life-choices you make are no one’s business but yours.

With knowledge comes empowerment!