No One Can Please Everyone

You can't please everybody. No matter how hard you try, no matter how great you try to be, there will always be someone who isn't impressed. Even perfection doesn't please everyone. If you don't believe that statement, consider that an innocent man who had never done anything wrong was arrested for a crime he did not commit. He was beaten, flogged, spat on, insulted, mocked, and finally nailed to a wooden crucifix by his hands and feet.

People-pleasing is something that we do all the time. Even I find myself guilty of this at times. What others say about us, whether an enemy, stranger, friend, or family member, their words can affect our ways of thinking. Sometimes we base our choices on what people think, rather than what we want to do, or more importantly, what we should do. At times, this can lead us to stop doing something we love, something that we're supposed to be doing. It can also make us start doing something we don't really want to do, perhaps something that we shouldn't be doing.

Now, before you tell your horrible, surly boss exactly what you think about him, using the foulest words you know and the meanest tone your voice is capable of, hear me out a little longer. I'm not saying you should just do whatever you feel like doing, all the time, with no regard to the others around you. In fact, what we want isn't always the same as what we need. Sometimes what people say is in fact something that helps us, or perhaps their words make us realize that we're on the wrong path. And obviously, a kind gesture for someone is an action which can please people and is also good, while being an uncaring wretch is an action which isn't people-pleasing and is also bad.

The issue with people-pleasing is that we try to please everyone, an impossible task which pulls us in an infinite number of directions, and in the end we either give up or get torn into pieces trying. If we live to please people, we can also lose our identities, doing what everyone wants instead of being ourselves. But the idea is to not live a life trying to please everyone, and to avoid living a life dedicated to displeasing everyone. The idea is take the good advice and comments people give you, and discard the negative things that people say or try to make you do. The idea is doing what is right, not what is wrong. Pursue your dreams, and don't give up and settle for something less because of what others tell you. And ultimately, the only one you should live to please is God.