Has someone ever told you need a thick skin? Here is Thick Skin Meaning & How A Thick Skin Will Help You in Life
Do you often find people telling you that you should learn how to get a thick skin? In this post, I’m going to tell you why you need to develop a thick skin and how to get thick skin without being rude.
Thick Skin Meaning
To use it in a sentence, “He hardly gets offended by anything. He’s in a business where he has to deal with angry customers and he has developed a thick skin over the years.”
Thick Skin Synonym
Some of the common thick skin synonyms include impervious, tough, hardened, insensitive invulnerable or even armor-plated.
What this means is that if you have thick skin, you are less likely to be worried about criticism and go on with your life without thinking what other people might be thinking about you.
I was an introverted kid and I never liked criticism.
Having grown up in a dysfunctional family, even as a kid I had lot of challenges to face and over the course of years I developed a thick skin and a “F-Off” attitude out of necessity.
When I was growing up, my father went out of his way to ensure that I had no money.
Once I got a job, I quickly saved everything and moved to a different city.
In the new city, I found a job as an Editor, then a communications specialist, then digital marketing executive and finally ended up heading digital marketing for a large company.
In between, I also started a media company as a 1 person marketing team, raising $2 Million in funding and then got kicked off the company I started.
In my life, I have had my share of ups and downs and I would not have survived or thrived if it were not for developing a thick skin.
Characteristics of thick skin include
- Not being afraid of confrontations
- Standing up for yourself
- Ability to take criticism
- Not taking things personally
- Ability to forget and move on
I’m a curious person and while I was writing a draft of this article, I started to wonder, how thick is a human skin.
How Thick is Skin
In case you are wondering How Thick is Skin human, skin is about 2 mm thick (about 0.07 inches) and covers an area about 20 square feet of surface and weighs about 3 kilograms.
How Thick is Elephant Skin
In case you are wondering How Thick is Elephant Skin it is around 2.5cm thick or between 2 and 4 cm or . 78 to 1.6 inches thick on average
Now that I have gotten that out of my system, let’s get back to how to Develop Thick Skin.
How to Get Thick Skin or How to Develop Thick Skin
Don’t Run Away From Uncomfortable Situations
As you go through life, there are times when you will be faced with uncomfortable situations.
When I was young, I made the mistake of dating someone in my office.
Deep down I knew it was never going to work out but I still gave it a short.
After I broke up with her, it was very uncomfortable being around her–especially in meetings and interactions that required us to be in the same room.
Then there were people outright insulting me saying that I don’t know shit about marketing and that I should just quit and start a lemonade stand.
One thing I have learnt is that running away from uncomfortable situations is never an answer.
Stand Up for Yourself
When I was growing up, I learn that I had to stand up for myself.
Even as a teenager, I always felt alone and there was nobody to cover my back but myself.
I remember when I ran out of money, I had called my father to ask for a small loan and he told me the only loan he would give me was for the bus fare to return home.
I knew what awaited me if I did go back home, so I stuck it out.
For over 8 months, I was eating only food once in a day to save money for rent.
Back then there were not many Internet opportunities and there was not even reliable ways to make money online.
Standing up for yourself will automatically help you develop a thick skin and the attitude to not give a shit about what other people think.
Learn to Not Take it Personally
There was a time when someone insulted me, I would replay the whole incident in my head for days and even weeks.
I would get angry, resentful and think about all the mean things I could have said to the person if the situation would happen again.
As I grew up, I learnt that people are of many different types and you can’t possibly control how they feel about you.
For years I was a workaholic and I expected everyone in my team to also give their 110%.
This made me very unpopular with some folks in my team and after I quit my job, I learnt that there was a “Hate Anoop” WhatsApp Group that existed with the sole purpose to bitch about me.
I found this out when one of the girls in the group spent some time with me and she said, “Wow, you are nothing like what they talk about in the group.” I just laughed.
The best thing to do in any situation whether good or bad is not take things personally and just think that whatever the other person is saying is just his/her opinion for the moment
Remember That the Situation Doesn’t Matter in Long Term
There might be times when you are uncomfortable and you are just not able to develop a thick skin to face a situation.
In such cases, always remember that the situation is just a small instance in time and that it will pass.
In the long run, nobody will remember your embarrassment or any situation that caused you pain.
The more you think about it, the more you are hurting yourself. So just drop it.
There was a story I read many years back which might be relevant here.
Its about two monks and a woman
Once a young monk and an older monk were traveling.
They approached a river and there was also a young girl (could be a prostitute) waiting to cross the strong current.
The woman asked the monk to help her and the senior monk took her on his shoulder and crossed the river.
The younger monk was shocked but didn’t say anything.
After the monks crossed the river, the lady and the monks went on their way but the younger monk was upset because his senior had touched this woman and even carried her.
After few hours passed, the younger monk couldn’t control his anger and frustration and asked the senior monk, “How could you touch that woman and carry her on your shoulder? Don’t you think it was inappropriate?
The old monk calmly replied, “Son, I left her at the river, why are you still carrying her?”
This story is profound that we carry lot of baggage around.
While it is easier said than done, you should try to remember not to carry around insults or situations that hurt you.
Try to Do New Things That You are Afraid Of
Most people cannot develop a thick skin because they are afraid of trying new things.
People are afraid of failure, what others will think and whether the project would be successful or not.
I’m starting this blog in 2021 when everyone says that blogging is dead.
Still I don’t care and I’m not afraid to try my hand at this.
Thick Skin vs Thin Skin
To sum up, I am going to give you the difference between thick skin vs thin skin.
Thick Skin
- Can take criticism
- Is not afraid of what people think
- Is open to trying new things
Thin Skin
- Cannot take criticism
- Is afraid of what people think
- Tend to carry around lot of baggage
- Always thinking about failure
Thick Skin Quotes
I do think a key to success in any walk of life is having a short memory and a thick skin – I know it has served me well over the years.
Aubrey McClendon
In this business you have to develop a thick skin, but I’m always going to feel everything. It’s my nature.
Taylor Swift
A thick skin is a gift from God.
Konrad Adenauer
You have to have a thick skin if you think what you are doing is right.
Dido Harding
I have pretty thick skin, and I think if you’re going to be in this business, if you’re going to be an actor or a writer, you better have a thick skin.
John Irving
I hope this post will be helpful to developing a thick skin. If you like to get in touch with me, do leave a comment and I will respond to you.
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