Q&A for How to Mind Your Own Business

Not at all! Doing so shows you have good self-awareness and know how to respect boundaries.

Nope, only if that person asks you for advice and/or you have some kind of relevant information to help them with their plan. Of course, if their plan involves hurting themselves or someone else or otherwise committing a crime, you should inform the authorities.

The person might be curious about the other person's private life. He or she might also feel left out, and believe that by getting involved, he or she will fit in better. Lastly, the person might simply care or feel concerned for the other person.

Just say, "don't worry about it -- I can handle it," and change the topic.

Just because you're prone to a behavior does not mean that you can't alter it or that you are not responsible for how it affects others. If you realize that being nosy is ultimately hurting your relationship with others or causing you unnecessary stress, it's time to conscientiously try to change your ways.

Learning to mind your own business takes time! Start by setting yourself a small goal, such as walking away from one private conversation that you really want to butt in on. Once you've done that, keep building up to bigger challenges. Minding your own business doesn't mean you need to stop talking; it just means that you need to be mindful of when and how you're talking.

It's best to be polite but direct. Tell them that you appreciate their concern but would prefer if they did not say anything further about the issue.

When you inform someone about something important, it should not be such that it turns the person to whom you inform against the person who did something. It may start a fight between them, and they may later blame you for "butting in."

Impress them with something that could make them interested. Wait for them to take a break, and change the subject and start talking about something else. Once you get in one conversation, it will be much easier to get into the others.

Listen to music, focus on your studies and work, wear earphones when they have private conversations. Wearing ear plugs at night may be helpful if noise is an issue at night, and purchasing an eye mask can also help if lighting is a concern. Make sure to refrain from going through their stuff, as well. Do your best to be courteous and respect their privacy.

It depends what they overheard. If the disgruntled coworker was just complaining about their job being too hard, that is none of their business. If they were saying, "I hate this job, I'm going to kill someone," or, "I hate this job because the work environment is unsafe," those are things that a union rep or someone else in a position of authority should hear about.

Well, yes. If you're listening to music in headphones, you can't listen in on other people's business.

Just let her do what she wants. If she gets hurt, she can learn from her mistakes for the next time.

Sure, anyone can ask whatever they like. I have a right to ask you about your financial affairs, too, it's just that you are not obligated to answer. The key here is that they're your finances, so you get to decide how you handle them, and you have no obligation to disclose this to your children, or anyone. Even if they suspect you're doing it wrong, it's your money as long as you're alive. If they want to learn about money management, help them do so. If they want to make sure there's some left for their inheritance, help them learn how to earn their own money.

Just apologize for interrupting and/or for being negative.

It could be because they can't talk to the person in private, so they talk to them in public.

You should at the very least always trust yourself, so that's one. That also proves you can trust someone, so you can trust more than one person as well. Trusting someone is the default, you trust them until they prove not to deserve it. Just trust them with little things at first.

It's best to stay out of it unless someone is being bullied badly, if a teacher is already involved, they should know how to handle it.

Do the work that is asked of you. Follow the rules and be respectful of the teacher and everyone else on staff. Do these things even when you don't see the point, and don't argue about them. Sometimes things at school don't seem logical, but usually the staff has your best interest in mind.

You should intervene, but if you're worried that doing so would make the situation worse or put your own safety at risk, tell a nearby adult what you saw.

All you have to do is get a hobby, keep yourself occupied and keep your mind focused on something else other than others. Doing this will help you mind your own business. I suggest taking up in rock collecting or maybe even pharmaceutical studies. Or you could become a detective!

Respect her privacy and tell her that you are just concerned and that you are there for her when she is ready to talk or share what is going on.

Just leave them be. There is likely a reason they are ignoring you, and this is a likely sign they don't want you involved.