Happy Wednesday!
Today’s quote comes from Herbert Bayard Swope. He was a US journalist and editor, who was born at the of XIX century and lived until mid XX century. He was the first recipient of Pulitzer Prize for Reporting in 1917 for articles about the German Empire and is a three-times Pulitzer Prize recipient for his lifetime.
Have you ever found yourself trying to please people around you? It happens to me often … I seek to be surrounded with predominantly happy people, but pleasing them might not be always a recipe for successful relationship. Actually, pleasing is not equal to kindness, so see if you could practice the following techniques to reduce your inclination to please people:
- Don’t pretend you agree with everyone just to be liked.
- Don’t feel responsible for how other people feel.
- Stop apologizing.
- You’re in charge of how you spend your time. Don’t spend it for activities that are not part of your priorities.
- Learn how to say NO assertively.
- Don’t feel bad if other people are angry at you. It’s not necessary your fault and you should not compromise your values.
- Don’t wait for compliments to feel good about yourself.
- Don’t try to avoid conflicts at all costs.
- Keep relationships authentic and share honestly when you feel angry, sad, embarrassed, or disappointed, and don’t try to hide your feelings.
Let me know how you feel about pleasing others and what you do to fight the inclination to agree with others, just to keep them happy.
Nadia Karaboycheva 