Don't be Everything for Everyone.

It is a burden for children to carry the weight of being an achiever and to be successful. Kids who grew up into other people’s expectations and eventually lived their life trying to prove themselves to everyone. It is something we didn’t want, yet we have unconsciously been doing it our entire life.

"People pleasers" That’s how we call it. We want to show everyone how great we are. We always have to think about how others will feel, react, and say whenever we do something. We have to be mindful and careful of our actions. We are afraid to break the perfect image and impression of ourselves by others. We want to avoid the feeling of shame when we disappoint someone.

The validation from others seemed to be more important than from our own.

We seek the validation that comes from people that contributed nothing in our life. Truth be told, we were just raised in constant fear of upsetting people.

But, you are not responsible for how others feel. You don’t have to feel sorry for setting boundaries. You don’t have to pretend that you wield the same perspective just so you can avoid people getting mad at you. You don’t have to go to great lengths just to avoid conflicts. You don’t need to do things that make you feel burdened. You don’t have to deny your own emotions just to make everyone else comfortable. You were not born to impress and please anyone.

We often wonder too much about what other people think of us that we forgot to put ourselves first. This time, hear yourself. Lend your own ears to listen to what your heart desires. Focus on you. Be reckless, be selfish, be someone who people don’t expected you to be. Make choices that make people wonder if you’ve lost your mind. Live a good life. Do all of the small things with grace, laughter, and an unshakeable belief in what’s to come.

Be irreplaceable, undefeatable, incorrigible.

Far too many of us have attempted to hide our weirdness from friends or partners, only to discover that in doing so, we were stifling the best things about us. Nothing compares to the happiness that comes from being your unique, strange self and discovering that there are people who adore and love you for it.

May all people-pleasers finally have the courage to disappoint people, so they never have to depend their happiness on anyone else.