Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Not curiosity, not vanity, not the consideration of expediency, not duty and conscientiousness, but an unquenchable, unhappy thirst that brooks no compromise leads us to truth.
(n.) The quality of being conscientious; a scrupulous regard to the dictates of conscience.
As long as other people's opinions matter more than your own, you're owned by them. You're not even free.