One of my favorite quotes is the following:

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

It’s a quote I revisit time and time again because I always have this habit of feeling inferior to others. It’s an awful habit—one I’m trying to kick.

When I was in my 20s, I promised myself that when I turned 30, I’d suddenly care less what other people thought of me. That hasn’t happened yet. I’m learning that not caring about what other people think of me is a process. I succeed sometimes; other times I fail miserably. I can’t continue to see myself as the pimply little teenager who was self-conscious about everything people said about her (although I am the same person). If someone called me a lesbian today, now I’d laugh and sort of embrace it. I’m secure in my marriage (to my husband who is, yes, a guy and always has been) and in my sexuality. People can think what they want to think but at the end of the day, I have to focus on the opinions of those closest to me. And these are the people who really matter.

See? Like I said, I have my moments when I can simply “let go” of what others think of me.

I think my feelings of inferiority are also tired to my sleeping pattern. Depending on how much (or little) sleep I get, people can really get to me. I suspect this is what the saying of “waking up on the wrong side of the bed” means.

I often give my uninformed consent to feel inferior. But perhaps Mrs. Roosevelt said what she said because she struggled so much with it herself. I don’t know at what age she said it but I’m pretty sure she was older than 30. However, I recognize getting over an inferiority complex is a process. One that I will not be perfect at, but by the grace of God, will get better at.