Print
“I don’t know the key to success but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.”
— Bill Cosby
By nature, I am a people pleaser. I work hard to ensure all those who are around me at any given time are happy. I try to solve problems, negotiate solutions, and create winning scenarios. I am constantly optimistic. There are times in our fifteen years of marriage that my husband has simply stood back shaking his head. He understands my need to keep people happy and willingly surrounds me with strong arms when I can’t.
I am tired. The reality is that I cannot make everyone around me happy all of the time.
Overtime, I have learned to redirect my people pleasing tendencies. I took a step back and tried to identify why I always wanted people to be happy. For me, the answer wasn’t about their happiness as much as it was about my need to serving and nurturing others.
Simply trying to make everyone happy is impossible. You will exhaust yourself trying to accomplish that and you will never truly be successfully. Instead, you need to recognize what need you are filling and strive to meet it. Once you successfully meet that need, you will be able to live a happier, less stressful life; you will be satisfied.
We live in difficult times. Technology has created a me generation that wants everything quickly and precisely as they prefer. It is easy to get caught up in those confusing ways that encourage you to reach personal gratification. Instead, dig deeper and search for what will satisfy you.
Instead of immediate gratification, search for permanent satisfaction.
