I Used to Be a People Pleaser But Now I Put Myself First

I used to be a people pleaser but now I've learned to put myself first. When I was younger, I used to be the kind of person that people could take advantage of easily. When you display that as a young person, it's hard to change as an adult -- but it is possible to put yourself first and stop being a people pleaser.

I always try to be there for my loved ones and try to make everyone happy. The truth is, however, that you can't make everybody happy no matter how hard you try. It's important to learn to do what's right for you, without feeling guilty that someone didn't like what you said or did. How can one easily find the balance between doing things for other people, but also making sure you take care of yourself so your own mental health and wellbeing doesn't suffer? Learn to put yourself first and don't always people please.

To Be a People Pleaser Means You Tolerate Too Much Guilt

Guilt is a negative emotion which, if left unresolved, can cause stress, anxiety and even depression. It is very important to resolve your feelings of guilt over people pleasing especially if you already suffer from a mental illness.

I've struggled with feeling guilty for a lot of things my whole life, even when I knew deep inside I wasn't doing anything wrong. During this Christmas period, because I'm involved in many actives including my student's music concerts, there have been many other festivities/events which I've been invited to, and have said yes to all of them. However, I've had to cancel a few. I need to foresee that is stressful because the time factor just simply does not allow me to attend all of them to please everyone. This leaves others disappointed and me feeling guilty.

For people pleasers it's hard to say no. Sure, at times it's good to make that extra effort to make a friend, partner, work colleague or family member happy, but when you people please out of guilt all the time, you're not doing it for the right reasons. Doing things because they feel obligatory shouldn't be driving forces in your decision-making because this can weigh you down mentally.

Lack of Assertiveness Sets You Up to Be a People Pleaser

I believe a healthy dose of assertiveness is good and so is learning to put yourself first. It means you respect yourself and stand up for what's right. Sometimes when learning to say no to things you don't want to be involved in, you need to be assertive in a respectful manner. You need to think carefully about what's important to you. Prioritize your time so that you don't over commit to things; and if you feel snowed under, take some time out for you (Self-Care 101).

When you can, help others around you, or people less fortunate than you -- but for the right reasons. It's not easy to find this balance and say no to people when you always want to make everyone happy, but it's important to for you to feel balanced, confident and mentally healthy.

This video talks most about people pleasing and how to put yourself first.

Also See:

• How To Stop Being A People Pleaser
• Words of Encouragement for People Pleasers
• Seven Strategies to Overcome People Pleasing

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