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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2017)
FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2017 4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS Opinion / Politics — Guest Opinion — 10 reasons not to care what others think By Ted Lim Reprinted with permission “Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.” – Lao Tzu It is human nature to want to be liked and accepted. However, this often leads to people worrying too much about what others are thinking about them. This kind of excessive worrying can have a negative effect on your life. It can be so debilitating that it interferes with your ability to feel at ease with yourself and around others. Do not let it prevent you from living your life to the fullest potential. Here are ten reasons why you should not care about what others think: 1. It’s Not Their Life, So It’s None Of Their Business People are entitled to think what- ever they want, just as you are entitled to think what you want. What people think of you cannot change who you are or what you are worth, unless you allow it to. This is your life to live. At the end of the day you are the only person who needs to approve of your own choices. 2. They Don’t Know What’s Best For You Nobody will ever be as invested in your life as you. Only you know what is best for you, and that entails learning from your own choices. The only way you will ever truly learn is through making your own decisions, taking full responsibility for them, and that way if you do fail, at least you can learn from it wholeheartedly, as opposed to blaming somebody else. 3. What’s Right For Someone Else May Be Completely Wrong For You It’s important to recognize that someone’s opinion is often based on what they would do. This alone is the problem. What is best for somebody else, can be the worst thing for you. What one person considers garbage can be another person’s treasure. We are all so unique. Only you know what is right for you. 4. It Will Keep You From Your Dreams If you are constantly worried about what other people think, you will never get to where you need to go in life. You are going to have to do things that don’t always meet people’s standards. You will come into situ- ations where you have to put your pride and your reputation on the line to get what you want. If you are con- stantly worried about what people are thinking, you will never have the will to do what’s right for you. 5. You’re The One Stuck With The End Result In life, you are the one stuck with the consequences of your decisions. For example, if someone suggests you buy some stocks, but you just don’t feel like it’s the right choice, you are the only one who will live the consequences. If the stock falls and Letter to the Editor Policy: The Baker County Press reserves the right not to pub- lish letters containing factual falsehoods or incoherent narrative. Letters promoting or detracting from specific for-profit business- es will not be published. Word limit is 375 words per letter. Letters are limited to one every other week per author. Letters should be submitted to Editor@TheBakerCounty- Press.com. Advertising and Opinion Page Dis- claimer: Opinions submitted as Guest you lose a lot of money, you are the one that will have to live with the fact that you didn’t follow your inner call. When people give you their sugges- tions or even orders, there is no risk for them. They don’t have to live with your choices—but you do. 6. People’s Thoughts Change On A Regular Basis We are constantly changing. Some philosophers and theorists suggest that we are in a constant state of flux, so much that we cannot even say we have one, specific ‘self’ (or a fixed personality). People’s thoughts, ideas and views change on a regular basis. That means even if somebody does think badly of you at the moment, there is a good chance they will think differently in the near future. So basi- cally, people’s thoughts don’t really matter. 7. Life Is Simply Too Short You only have one life to live, so why would you spend it worrying about other people’s opinions? Do whatever you want, be whoever you want. You’re not going to see these people after you’re dead. You prob- ably won’t even see them in a year from now. Live your life without wor- rying about other people’s thoughts and opinion, and you will live your life to the maximum. 8. You Reap What You Sow Worrying too much about what other people think of you can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Frequently, people indulge their need to be liked so much so that it actually dictates to the way they behave. Some become people-pleasers or so submissive that many people are turned off. The be- havior you use as an attempt to ensure you are liked may actually cause you to be disliked. 9. Others Don’t Care As Much As You Think People generally don’t think outside themselves a great deal of time. It is a sad but simple truth that the average person filters their world through their ego, meaning that they think about most things in terms of “me” or “my.” This means unless who you are or what you have done directly affects another person or their life, they are unlikely to spend much time thinking about you at all. 10. The Hard Truth: It’s Impos- sible To Please Everybody You can’t please all of the people all of the time. It is impossible to live up to everyone’s expectations so there is no point in burning yourself out try- ing to do so. Just make sure that one of the people you please is yourself! Conclusion The weight of others’ thoughts can become a burden for you. It can inhibit you from living your life, be- cause your entire being (your person- ality, your thoughts, your actions) are controlled by an idealized standard of what people want to see. When you become so obsessed with other people’s opinion of you, you forget your own. You can make a conscious effort to stop giving a damn; to let yourself free. It’s a skill that needs to be prac- ticed, like meditating. But once you truly understand how to let go, you will see the world as entirely differ- ent. Once you give up catering to other people’s opinion and thoughts, you will find out who you truly are, and that freedom will be like taking a breath for the first time. Opinions or Letters to the Editor express the opinions of their authors, and have not been authored by and are not necessarily the opinions of The Baker County Press, any of our staff, management, independent contractors or affiliates. Advertisements placed by political groups, candidates, businesses, etc., are printed as a paid service, which does not constitute an endorsement of or fulfillment obligation by this newspaper for the products or services advertised. — Letters to the Editor — What has happened to this country? To the Editor: I am so terribly discouraged by the behavior of the ideologs in Washington. The people there were elected to represent ALL of the people in their districts. They have turned into a group of sour grape eat- ers. It’s time they stop acting like spoiled, entitled, petulant children who are guided by their own poor judgement and lack of respect. As I watched the speech of Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) I am appalled by his race baiting and tantrum throwing. This man was is a contemporary of the icon Dr. Martin Luther King. Apparently he has forgotten his roots in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. I never saw the disrespect from Dr. King that Rep. Lewis [and his ilk] is showing to the President -elect. It is totally disheart- ening to see the way the privileged people in DC are behaving before the coming Inauguration. It is so worrisome that our elected officials are disrespecting the of- fice of the President, no matter how you feel about the person. Did you see this kind of action against President Barack Obama at either of his inaugurals? I can tell you for sure there was none. It’s time for the power mongers in DC to shut up and do their jobs like adults, not petulant children. We have bigger problems than pressing the divide between races in this country. This rots the core of our very existence. Respect the office, if not the man. Peggie Longwell Baker City Cattlemen respond to Cascade-Siskiyou Monument expansion By Katie Schrock, Communications Director for the OCA It is with sad acknowl- edgment that the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association reports to you that an expansion of the Cas- cade-Siskiyou National Monument in southern Oregon was designated by President Barack Obama; a decision that will have a rippling effect on ranchers, farmers, outdoor enthusi- asts and beyond. The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association has worked diligently in opposition to the idea of the 42,000 additional acres of natu- ral habitat and privately owned property being designated into the already existing Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Our trepidation with this monument designation is an opinion also shared by the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. The local Commissioners sent a letter to President Obama requesting that the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Expansion be left on the cutting room floor. Common Misconception: When a monument desig- nation occurs, the govern- ment tells us that current grazing practices will continue to be allowed. The Reality: What hap- pens is that when there is a transfer in ownership or management, those agreements don’t have to be honored. Eventually, these grazing permits will be ended. If the roads are not immediately cut off, they eventually become unusable due to limited in- frastructure improvements and loss of basic mainte- nance. These roads are not cut off just for ranchers or loggers, it becomes cut off for birdwatchers, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts as well; an area that is prom- ised to them to be a natural conservatory for them to enjoy nature. Almost a third of the land within the designated monument area is privately owned and these land- owners are assured that this will not change. The government will eventually gain these lands, however, as owners become “willing sellers” due to an inability to access and profit off their own land. “Land that has been in their family for generations will inevitably be sold for pennies on the dollar,” said Jerome Rosa, the Execu- tive Director of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association. “Our western heritage and love for the land is some- thing we greatly value within our association. This is a huge hit for our members, our communi- ties, and our state.” The bottom line is that the Antiquities Act of 1906 (16 U.S.C. 431) needs to be changed. Its purpose was to pro- tect important historical sites and objects, which has been greatly overshad- — Contact Us — owed with the misuse of our current and recent past presidents to leave their own selfish environmental legacy. The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association is disappointed to share this news with you as it means a loss of graz- ing lands, timber produc- tion, jobs and an injured economy as the bleak future of Jackson County. Statement from the De- partment of the Interior: Today’s 48,000-acre expansion of the Cas- cade-Siskiyou National Monument builds upon the original monument’s goal to protect the area’s extraordinary biodiversity. Located in southwestern Oregon and established in 2000, Cascade-Siskiyou was the first monument designated solely for the preservation of its biodi- versity. The monument is an ecological wonder, home to an incredible variety of rare and endemic plant and animal species, and representing a rich mo- saic of forests, grasslands, shrub lands, and wet mead- ows at the convergence of three mountain ranges. In October, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Michael Connor attended a public meeting on the proposed expansion hosted by Senator Jeff Merk- ley (D-OR) in Ashland, Oregon. In addition to Senator Merkley’s leader- ship, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and then-Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) had written in support. YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS The Baker County Press President Donald Trump PO Box 567 Baker City, Ore. 97814 202.456.2461 fax Open Monday-Thursday for calls 9 AM - 4 PM Open 24/7 for emails 202.456.1414 Whitehouse.gov/contact US Sen. Jeff Merkley 503.326.3386 503.326.2900 fax Merkley.Senate.gov Phone: 541.519.0572 TheBakerCountyPress.com US Sen. Ron Wyden 541.962.7691 Wyden.Senate.gov Kerry McQuisten, Publisher Editor@TheBakerCountyPress.com US Rep. Greg Walden Wendee Morrissey, Advertising and Sales Wendee@TheBakerCountyPress.com 541.624.2402 fax David Conn, Advertising and Sales David@TheBakerCountyPress.com Published weekly every Friday. Subscription rates per year are $29.95 all areas, e-mail delivery. $39.95 print issue, home delivery, Baker City city limits only. $49.95 print issue, mail delivery, outside Baker City city limits only. Payment in advance. A division of Black Lyon Publishing, LLC 541.624.2400 Walden.House.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown 503.378.3111 Governor.Oregon.gov State Rep. Cliff Bentz 503.986.1460 State Sen. Ted Ferrioli 541.490.6528 Baker County Commissioners Bill Harvey; Mark Bennett; Bruce Nichols 541.523.8200 Copyright © 2014 -2017 541.523.8201
