When you care more about what others think about you than the truth, you will subconsciously block out thoughts that you know will cause others to look on you poorly. You will never even get to the point where you can rationally consider these ideas or the actions that align with them. The ideas and actions you fail to consider may well be the solutions to the problems that beset you and the answers to the questions that beguile you.
You need to realize that preferring the reactions of others over fidelity to your own beliefs and desires is one and the same as believing that those you are trying to impress have a greater effect on your outcomes than the rest of reality. Inasmuch as you sincerely and accurately model the laws of cause and effect that govern the world, you build a set of rules predicting what will happen under certain conditions. To set these aside in preference for the approval of others is to adopt the belief that the person or people in question have a greater influence on the universe as it pertains to you than anyone or anything else, which is patently absurd.
To the extent that you care about what all other people think, you will find yourself reacting poorly in the presence of those few whose opinions matter more. These people have thoughts, feelings, and actions that provide an increment of improvement over your own, but to the extent that you are concerned with pleasing everyone, what they offer will offend many of those you are trying to please.