Well, I have never had a problem not caring what other people think, but there have been several times in my life that I've tried to acquire a characteristic that isn't natural to me. This is what I've discovered:
The harder I try to BECOME something I'm not, the less I'm able to do it, even if it's something I feel like I should be. But, when I
pretend to be something I'm not for a little while, I can wink at my true inclinations, bypass my frustration and just get it done. I taught myself to be sociable by joining groups and pretending to be extroverted than I was. It is much easier now to interact with other people, but I really had fake "outgoing" for awhile there.
Right now, I'm trying to become a neater person. I'm a slob. Really. If I step into the kitchen and say to myself, "Okay, be a tidy person. Feel the need to clean the floor. Be offended by the spilled sugar and orange juice on the table. NOW!" nothing will happen. I still won't care. I'll leave and go watch a DVD.
But if I go into the kitchen and say, "What would a OCD neat freak do right now? Wash this morning's dishes? Well, I'll do that. For now." I can get through it. And I know from experience that it will get to be more natural over time.
I think, that learning not to care what people think may lend itself to that technique. If you were someone who had a huge amount of faith in her decisions and judgment, what would you do? Now imagine that you are a self confident person who has discovered that she's made a mistake but still believes in her power to make good choices. What would you do? You don't have to become that person. Just visit her a little bit and see what she has to say.
