You weren't born to impress others

You see it at work, at the mall, and on Facebook.

People seem to have this unbridled compulsion to impress their peers, whether it's through their looks or material possessions.

Why should we care for others' validation so strongly? What ever happened to being comfortable in your own skin and not letting others dictate how you look and what you buy?

In reality, the only one we should be aiming to impress is ourselves. Instead of comparing ourselves to our coworkers and neighbors, we should compare ourselves to the person we were 6 months or a year ago.

That's how you assess whether you've made progress. That's the yardstick against which you should measure whether you've succeeded at whatever it is you've set out to achieve.

You are your best judge and critic, so why entrust someone else who's never been in your shoes with that power?

There's no harm in fishing for compliments at work or angling for a few likes on Facebook every so often, for it serves as positive reinforcement. But relying on others' approval to be happy with yourself? That's a different story.

Truth be told, there's nothing more empowering than not giving a hoot what others think about you. It betrays a sense of confidence -- you're comfortable in your own skin, you love yourself, and you don't apologize it. If someone has an issue with that, they'll either have to live with it or go fly a kite.

If you let others direct how you should live, you'll never please everyone -- least of all your own self. People will always want you to think and act in ways that validate their own decisions and experiences. But maybe such approaches don't work for you.

Impress yourself by challenging yourself to be better than the man or woman you started the year as. That could mean saving up more money to pay down your debt, losing weight, getting a promotion, or starting your own music band.

The bottom line is that they're your goals and aspirations, not someone else's. Nobody knows you better than you know yourself. If they want to critique someone, they might as well look in the mirror.

Love yourself. Challenge yourself. Treat yourself to a great meal or movie as a reward for your hard work. Never let anyone pressure you into giving up what makes you unique. There's only one of you in the world.

Strive to impress yourself, not others. Your opinion is the only one that should matter.