What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.

In Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson argues for fidelity to one's own judgment against the pressure of conformity. This sentence makes the competing claims plain: the work one believes necessary, and the opinions other people may form about it. The essay's force comes from asking how easily the second can displace the first before any real action has even begun. Read the source.

The thought is most useful when criticism is anticipated rather than heard. A worthwhile project can be abandoned in favor of imaginary objections delivered by an imaginary audience. Emerson asks the reader to give actual responsibility more authority than that performance. Independence is not a reason to dismiss evidence or refuse correction. It is a reason to distinguish a considered objection from the mere discomfort of being seen choosing differently. Those are not the same kind of information.

The calico walking toward an open doorway gives the idea a simple direction of travel. Another cat remains behind, and the scene does not require agreement before movement becomes possible. Human independence usually involves more complicated obligations than crossing a room. Still, the picture catches one useful moment: eventually a decision must become a step, and the background cannot be consulted forever about permission to take it.