*Editor’s Note: This quote has been floating around the internet for a while and is misattributed to Sir Anthony Hopkins, but the message is still heartfelt and worthwhile. For what is believed to be the original and longer version of this quote, check out Brianna Wiest’s Thought Catalog essay, “This Year, Let Go Of The People Who Aren’t Ready To Love You.”
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As a teenager, I admired Sir Anthony Hopkins, one of the coolest people in the world, whose talent took my breath away in movies like “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Meet Joe Black,” “Legends of the Fall,” “Hannibal,” “The Mask of Zorro,” and “Surviving Picasso.”
However, since I started following his Facebook page, what I admired more—other than his piano playing skills, his art, and his bond with his kitty—was his amazing sense of humor, grace, humbleness, weirdness (which he not only embraces but also flaunts), and mostly, his ability to connect, inspire, and teach mindfulness in the smoothest way ever.
On a personal level, I’ve been struggling with something for a while now, and I was stuck until I read this. I really urge everyone who was played, rejected, manipulated, gaslighted, abused, ghosted, lied to, and slandered to read these powerful words from the legend himself. I’ve always believed in the power of words, but how quickly these healed my heart and soothed my pain was miraculous.
“Let go of people who aren’t ready to love you yet! This is the hardest thing you’ll have to do in your life, and it will also be the most important thing: stop giving your love to those who aren’t ready to love you yet.
Stop hard conversations with people who don’t want to change.
Stop showing up for people who are indifferent to your presence.
Stop loving people who aren’t ready to love you.
I know your instincts do everything to win the good mercy of everyone around you, but it’s also the impulse that will steal your time, energy, and mental, physical, and spiritual health.
When you start manifesting yourself in your life, completely, with joy, interest, and commitment, not everyone will be ready to find you in this place of pure sincerity.
That doesn’t mean that you have to change who you are. That means you have to stop loving people who don’t want to love you yet.” ~ Anthony Hopkins
Consequently, I no longer have the time or the energy to chase people who aren’t ready to love me. I used to force conversations out of people who claimed they aren’t good at it when, in fact, they did not love me enough to enjoy conversing with me. I’d stop texting, expecting them to initiate, and yet, they never bothered.
Today, I live my life on my own terms with presence. I savor the joys of every single moment, and I no longer change anything about myself simply because someone else cannot see, understand, or accept it.
I am mindful of the traits and things that I need to work on to improve myself. Other than that, I celebrate my awesomeness, my craziness, and my beautiful weirdness simply because I am finally practicing my favorite quote
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” And neither should I.
Today, I understand that I am not responsible for their feelings or their actions, but I certainly have a say in mine. I am responsible for my physical, mental, and spiritual health.
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