I think we all fall into the trap of people pleasing; even when it isn't fully conscious to us. We want to be liked, accepted, helpful, whatever and in order to accomplish this, tweak our personal convictions to do so.
This could include speaking a full truth to someone who asks for an honest opinion, but because you don't want to damage the relationship, you only share a half truth, which really is fully a lie.
Or, we tend to say "yes" to things we really don't want to do in order to accomplish the same goal.
This can be a dangerous pattern to get into. In turn, we can end up doing more harm then good and nobody wins.
Instead, consider how you respond to people or why you need to turn a request down. There is no shame in sticking with what is good and true and guarding your time and truth be told?
If someone cannot respect your stance on those issues, there is nothing you could do to change that. Once you do your part, and do it gracefully, the ball's in their court.
People pleasing causes us to compromise and truly, we lose who we really are in the process. We aren't being ourselves, we're being who we believe everyone else wants us to be. Oh what a mess we make with ourselves when we do this!
You must know how valuable YOU are as YOU. There is NO ONE else like you on the planet. NO ONE. And there is no one who can be a better you than YOU.
We tend to believe lies, either told to us by others or by the enemy, that we have to cover up our beliefs, or ourselves, in order to continue a friendship, or even an acquaintance.
Don't fall into the people pleasing trap. More often then not, we mistake what people may be thinking and act accordingly. When really, most of the time, people would probably respect our true opinion.
What can you do when you find yourself in a sticky situation where you need to make a decision to be honest {with yourself and the other party} or to people-please?
This post is a part of The Better Mom Book Club. We'd love to have you join us as we read and discuss Karen Ehman's new book, Keep it Shut, through weekly posts sent straight to your inbox and on our private Facebook page. Click the image below for all the details!
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