As one of the self-proclaimed “Most Insecure People on the Planet,” my evaluation of whether to take things personally or not is something I have struggled with all of my life. It has led to a lot of inappropriate messaging to people I hardly know asking: “Are you mad at me?” It’s also probably led to my being “let go” from several jobs for running into my boss’ office and explaining my behavior they were never even thinking about.

Yes, taking things personally is usually a result of insecurity and self-involvement, (thinking everyone is focused on you), but can certainly be managed. I’m just saying, the first step to manage the behavior is identifying it. To understand that it’s not all about you, I’m giving you a guide to stuff that many take personally; lighten up!

#1 Not hearing back from someone, no matter what the form of contact, text, e-mail, phone, etc.)

This is probably the most common thing people take personally. No, its not something you did/wore/said/etc! It’s something going on with them that likely has nothing to do with you. Rule of thumb—two contact attempts and no reply—shut up, forget it and get back to your life!