Words have power.
And they are mightier if the right people speak them.
The latest words to pack a punch are concise: “Let Them”.
And because author, podcaster and internet sensation Mel Robbins wrote them in a book, the chit-chat has gone viral.
People are getting “Let Them” tattooed on all manner of places, presumably in case they forget it is their new mantra.
Oprah loves it and it is a trending hashtag on TikTok.
There is an accompanying podcast series.
Millions of people are reading and watching and drinking the Kool-Aid.
Going gangbusters, it is.
For the uninitiated, the Let Them Theory is all about learning to let things go that are beyond your control.
People talking behind your back? Let them.
Someone stopped being your friend and ghosting you? Let them.
Your boss is cranky and negative? Let them.
It is the Serenity Prayer for a new age.
Control the controllables and don’t sweat what others say or do.
It might not be new, but it is new to this generation, apparently.
The theory goes that we spend too much time and energy accommodating others, trying to change them or worrying what they think of us – and really, we should focus on what we want.
Robbins calls this part “Let Me”: the yang to the yin.
Psychologists say that in the self development world, word choices matter because they give us control and allow us to wield it for ourselves.
It is a new kind of enlightened self-centredness – just perfect for this era of individualism.
The 2020s is said to be the decade of looking out for numero uno – let’s blame Covid for starting it – and people are hungry for ways to find contentment and feel satisfied with their own lives.
Change is hard and even though people have been introspective since Adam was a boy, disciples of this ‘new’ theory are navel gazing so hard that they risk falling in.
I have long loved a good self-help book – everything from The Power of Positive Thinking to Atomic Habits and Do Hard Things – and there is certainly nothing new under the sun: tweaked theories are birthed after climbing on the shoulders of those who came before.
This one is cheesily simple, but if people feel a bit better by letting others’ words and actions fall away like water off a duck’s back, well, Let Them.
Dr Jane Stephens is a UniSC journalism lecturer, media commentator and writer. The opinions expressed are those of the authors. These are not the views of Sunshine Coast News publishers.
