In the realm of pop psychology two trends that have taken off this past year involve “The Let Them Theory” and the “Otrovert” personality. Tomorrow’s post will look at the latter.
s the second favorite nonfiction book of this year by Goodreads voters.
The Let Them Theory has an easily digestible premise. Indeed, Mel Robbins states, “My point is simple: Adults will have negative opinions about you and everything you do. Let Them judge. Let Them react. Let Them doubt you. Let Them question the decisions you are making. Let Them be wrong about you. Let Them roll their eyes when you start posting videos online or you want to rewrite the manuscript for the 12th time. Instead of wasting your time worrying about them, start living your life in a way that makes you proud of yourself. Let Me do what I want to do with my one wild and precious life.”
So, it’s about personal control and about not being controlling.
“…You will never be able to control what is happening around you. You will also never be able to control your emotional responses, because they are automatic—just like how your stress response turns on automatically. But you can always choose what you think, say, or do in response to other people, the world around you, or the emotions that are rising up inside of you. That’s the source of all your power.”
Below is a brief clip from the author’s interview with Bill Maher. Form your own opinion (because obviously, of course, I am not trying to control you nor do I want to).
Caution: Much mockery ensues in the YouTube comments.
Among professionals, one common criticism is that Robbins’s claim of backing up her words with research isn’t reflected in her bibliography. Another, per therapist Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, Psychology Today, is that Let Them “doesn’t address relationships that may create or contribute to trauma or may impede one’s ability to recover from trauma.”
