You’ve heard it on the radio a thousand times, seen it splashed across Instagram feeds everywhere and thanks to Taylor Swift’s hit song “Shake It Off” it has probably been stuck in your head on more than one occasion this week. The phrase “haters gonna hate” is as common amongst millennials as pumpkin spice lattes, infinity scarves and hashtags.
Although this phrase has been criticized as being a stupid, overused and meaningless phrase in pop culture today, especially regarding Taylor Swift’s frivolous usage of it– we shouldn’t be so quick to judge. If you can overlook the stigma surrounding it and embrace the ideology behind it, it may be the best decision you ever made.
People are always going to disagree with your decisions
This is a simple yet crucial lesson to learn as early as you possible can. From your haircut to your wardrobe to just about everything else, not everyone is going to agree with you. Remember that this is okay, the only person you should be concerned with pleasing is yourself!
Some opinions are simply irrelevant
In today’s social media crazed world a lot of people have the power to voice their opinions daily and in a very public way. It is important to remember not to let everything everyone says affect you personally. Understand that certain people’s opinions matter less than others and it’s great to have these people in our lives for entertainment purposes but we shouldn’t get too worked up over them.
You will learn to roll with the punches
Pertaining to the idea of irrelevant opinions, learning to roll with the punches is a significant feature of embracing the “haters gonna hate” philosophy. Not sweating the little stuff, and “shaking it off” will make your entire existence a hell of a lot easier! Instead of wasting energy being concerned with other people’s opinions you will be blessed with the realization that you’ll never please everyone and you don’t have to!
It speaks to the importance of being yourself
On a more serious note this phrase sheds light on staying true to who you are. By not letting other people’s opinions define the decisions you make you will always remember to be yourself, and to stop living by other people’s standards.
You will never be liked by everyone
There will always be people who don’t like you, it is impossible to be universally liked by everyone but that is perfectly okay! Embracing the “haters gonna hate” type of thinking will help you understand that “haters” are just an inevitable part of life and you really shouldn’t waste energy letting them faze you.
It is important to remember that hate is an enormously strong word and like anything else, there is a right and wrong way to use it. But if using the phrase so eloquently put by Nicki Minaj “shout out to my haters sorry that you couldn’t faze me” helps you understand the importance of being yourself and sticking to your guns then what’s the harm? After all “haters gonna hate”.
Featured image via “Taylor Swift” by Eva Rinaldi Celebrity Photographer / CC BY-SA 2.0
