Worried about a mistake someone else is making? Frustrated because you know what’s best and no one will listen?

That’s not your bullshit. That’s their bullshit. They are making their mistakes, learning their lessons the hard way, and it’s their life not yours. Don’t steal their bullshit.

I’m not really yelling at you. I’m just asking you not to waste your time. People very rarely learn when they are told something. They learn when they touch the stove and they get burned. Sometimes it takes many burns. That’s okay. My lesson about entering codependent relationships took like 999 burns. If my therapist stole my bullshit and sold it as fertilizer she’d be richer than Jeff Bezos.

Just pay attention to your thoughts. Ask yourself if you’re worrying about something you have control over, or if you’re worrying about a decision/mistake someone else is making. If so, you’re probably trying to steal someone else’s bullshit. Stop yourself, remind yourself mentally “I should not steal their bullshit because stealing is wrong,” and then move on with your life. It’s okay if this happens frequently. I have to stop myself on a regular basis, but as long as we do stop ourselves then that’s good enough.

Stealing other people’s bullshit doesn’t feel good. And sometimes “don’t steal bullshit” is the lesson we need to learn. Sometimes we can’t fix other people’s bullshit and we can’t make them fix it either, and to get rid of their bullshit we have to get rid of them too. That’s okay. We aren’t meant to be in everyone’s lives forever. Moving apart is better than their mistakes keeping you up at night and them refusing to fix their own bullshit. You can tell them what you think, but understand the limits of what you can do.

Worry about your own problems, those are problems you can do something about. I just want you to be happy, and being happy means not stealing bullshit.

P.S. Does someone in your life always steal your bullshit and tell you how to live? Send this to them. I promise it will either go well or you can have your money back.

Further reading: If this post resonated with you, I highly recommend The Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday. This book was a slap in the face to me. It taught me the quote “It’s not about you.” There’s many times I would take things personally which were not about me, and that limited my ability to get the most out of life. If you find yourself taking things personally or worrying about things that are not your problem, this book could help you too. It’s not fun to admit you have an ego problem, but it’s even worse to live with an ego problem.