Close Family and Friends
The “you can’t please everyone” concept used to be abstract for me. Growing up, I was blessed to have a very loving and supportive network of people surrounding me. Family, friends—the people surrounding me were (and still are) genuinely good people. Even if they disagreed with a choice I made, no one ever made feel guilty. No one ever made me feel like I was doing something terrible simply because they disagreed.
Things Have Changed
Over the last several months, my experience with pleasing others has changed. I have encountered a situation where I’m fairly certain my existence is offensive (or at least, that’s how it feels).
Regardless of where the problem began or what it has become, there is one thing I have learned. There are times when you will not be able to please everyone and you have to choose. Will you do what makes you happy even if it upsets someone else, or will you sacrifice your happiness instead?
Do What’s Right for You
Instead of compromising and bending over backwards in an effort to please (which I likely would have done 5-10 years ago), I’m making the effort to do what is best for me and my family. What choice will make us happy? Which decision will benefit us the most? It may not always be the popular decision, even among those you love. Sometimes you just have to be willing to stand out from the crowd, because as the saying goes…
You can’t please everyone.