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How to Stop Being a People Pleaser

The first 500 people to click this link will get a 2 month free trial of Skillshare: https://skl.sh/tsol3 People-pleasing behavior, while ostensibly pleasant, causes enormous difficulties for us, especially in relationships and in love. We need to grow better able to disappoint others, and to stop fearing calamity when we do so. Enjoying our YouTube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/YvWZH Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/uJ__A FURTHER READING You can read more on this here: https://bit.ly/2JDQ0sh MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself You can submit translations and transcripts on all of our videos here: https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_panel?c=UC7IcJI8PUf5Z3zKxnZvTBog&tab=2 Find out how more here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6054623?hl=en-GB SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Marcie LaCerte http://marslizard.net/ #TheSchoolOfLife

The School of Life

5 years ago

this video is sponsored by Skillshare click the link in the description for more information being someone who pleases people sounds on the face of it like a very good idea but it's a pattern of behavior riddled with problems as much for the perpetrator as for their audience the people pleaser is someone who might at times be oneself who feels they have no option but to mold themselves to the expectations of others and yet harbors all manner of secret and appoints dangerous reservations and rese
ntments they act like the perfect lover when their real feelings are much darker they give their assent to plans they hate and they confuse everyone around them by failing to express in due time with the requisite courage their authentic needs and ambitions putting it bluntly we could say that the people pleaser is a liar it sounds brutal but the people pleaser is lying for poignant reasons not in order to gain advantage but because they are terrified of the displeasure of others to understand a
nd potentially sympathise with the people pleaser we need to look at that past which almost invariably involves an early experience of being around people usually a mother or father who seemed to be radically and terrifyingly incapable of accepting and forgiving certain necessary but perhaps tricky facts about their child perhaps our father flew into volcanic rage at any sign of disagreement to present an opposing political idea to suggest we wanted something different to eat to be frank about o
ur tiredness or anxiety all these could threaten us with annihilation to survive we needed to be acutely responsive to what others expected us to do and say the very question of what we might really want became secondary to an infinitely more important priority manically second-guessing the desires of those on whom at that time our lives depended we didn't always lie out of fear it was also often out love for someone we were profoundly attached to but who was vulnerable in some way we lied at a
belonging not to set off another marital Rao a desire to keep a depressive parent in a good mood and to avoid adding a further burden to what seemed like an already very difficult or sad life who were we to make things even more complicated for a fragile person we cared for however understandable the origins of our behavior in the more reflexive moments of adulthood we might find three paths out from these difficult patterns of people pleasing the first relies on reminding ourselves that our col
leagues partners and friends are almost certainly very different from the people around whom our anxieties evolved in childhood most humans can cope quite well with a bit of contradiction a dose of unwelcome information or an occasional rejection delivered with requisite politeness the other is not going to explode or dissolve we learned a very particular habit of relating to the world around a group of people who were not representative of humanity as a whole secondly we need to acknowledge the
inadvertently harmful side effects of our behavior we may genuinely have good intentions but we are endangering everyone by not speaking more frankly at work we aren't doing anyone a service by withholding our doubts and reservations and in love there is no kindness in staying in a relationship simply because it seems the other might not survive without us they will but we will have wasted a lot of their time through our sentimentality finally we can acquire the confidence to be artful about th
e difficult messages we have to impart as a child we couldn't new us the messages we wanted to send out we didn't know how to craft our raw pain and needs into convincing explanations but now it's open to us to be firm in our views but extremely genial as well we can say no while indicating that we feel a lot of goodwill we can say someone is wrong without implying that they are an idiot we can leave someone while ensuring they realize how much a relationship meant to us we can in other words be
pleasant without being people pleasers we partnered with Skillshare today as it is a fantastic starting point for anyone also looking to learn new skills and they have given us an amazing offer to pass on to you the first 500 people to sign up using the link in the description will receive a two-month free trial if you haven't heard of Skillshare before it's home to thousands of classes in graphic design animation web development music photography design and more you can start learning how to d
o just about anything in two months you could easily learn the skills you need to start a new hobby or business is there a project that you've been dreaming of completing but just aren't sure if you have the skills to do it why not start right now and sign up to skill share using the link below you

Comments

@theschooloflifetv

Are you a people pleaser? Let us know in the comments below or on our app: https://bit.ly/2JFp7Ev

@applewitheveryone

Sounds a lot like me... I feel immensely guilty whenever I so much as think I've caused someone even the slightest bit of displeasure

@patrickking9600

Learning to say “no” calmly and confidently has done me more good than thousands of hours of therapy

@arnabdas7650

is that why i enjoy being alone? so i can be who i really am?

@lovelyA933

I've been a people pleaser basically all my life. But I don't do it to make others happy. I do it out of fear of how they will respond towards me, which I guess says a lot about my childhood. I'm always scared if I don't go along I will be hated, abandoned, ridiculized, judged, that they will get the wrong idea of me forever, or will be angry at me and I can't stand that feeling. I'm terrified of even upsetting a stranger, even if I never see them again. It is something that has affected me my whole life, leaving me feeling powerless and resentful. People usually take advantage of me or disrespect me because they know I'm not strong enough to stand up for myself. This always leaves me with inmense regret for all the things I could have said or done differently to defend myself. This also hurts my self esteem and confidence. And it sucks because the only thing I know to do to protect myself is to close down and not open up to people, and even though it saves me the trouble of being used it also leaves me feeling very lonely and like something is wrong with me. But when I do open up even a little bit my trust is usually broken and there I am back again at square one, building my walls back up. I just feel like I need to protect myself from the entire world, I'm scared of being unpleseantly myself. This is the reason why I don't have any friends and have also never dated anyone. I'm only close to my family members because I have learned to stop trying to please them lol. Man, I don't know why I'm pouring out like this in a comment section, but this video really opened my eyes. I'll do my best to change this and finally be happy, even if that upsets others.

@lanasalahadin6123

I was a people pleaser almost al my life, I was always called as such a nice and loving person who’s kind to everyone. Once I stopped being that and attended to my own needs and happiness I suddenly became an angry,moody and needy person! Funny how people will love you until you become yourself

@tiffanybartlett7600

What angers and frustrates me is. Ppl will ask and expect things of you that they themselves wouldn’t do in return if you asked. There’s no mutual respect.

@fugglepugg8055

I was once a people pleaser until I began to realize that people were taking advantage of my kindness and when I needed help from those I have helped they never even bothered to help me. I got tired of it.

@mollyhooper8674

People get so used to you being a people pleaser.... so when you start to change your habits, and put yourself first more often, those around you get upset with you, leave you and tell you off for having changed. And that’s the hardest bit to overcome. Choosing between working on yourself and risk losing people OR staying as you were so you don’t end up alone.

@caffeineadddiction

Having low self-esteem/no self-worth, social anxiety and being a people pleaser/pushover/doormat might be signs of childhood emotional neglect. Did your mother provide basic needs, such as, food and shelter, but fail to provide love, warmth, physical affection, an emotional bond? A loving mother helps build the child's identity, a neglectful one might lead to people pleasing behavior. Because the child lacked unconditional love from her mother, she yearns for that love and acceptance through appeasing others, while suppressing her own needs. Your needs are important and should be put first. Try therapy to build confidence.

@DivyanshuChowdharyJi

"We can be pleasant without being a People Pleaser." Nailed it!

@dadduorp

I don’t think the “People Pleaser” necessarily has malicious or insincere intent. Sometimes it’s just a matter of having very low self esteem. I know someone who is a real sweetheart and does MANY kind things for others—but who was abandoned by her father as a young child. I’m guessing that need to please is to ensure she is liked enough in order to not be abandoned by friends.

@abbieowen565

Problem with this is as a people pleaser you end up being drawn to people who can and like making decisions because you've spent your whole life never truly deciding what you want. In response to this when you do start putting yourself and your feelings first you often then clash with those people you've spent a lot of your life with because they aren't use to you putting your opinions out there and it's scary to think about those friendships or relationships ending in response to you changing.

@BrianVelez

Discovering this channel has made me realize how many psychological issues I have.

@carlax5270

Being a people pleaser is really exhausting. For me is like having many different personalities at the same time. I noticed that being a people pleaser is a serious problem for me... Because... I do not know who am I anymore. I do not know what I like, what I do not like, what I am passionate about, what I hate... I do not know myself at all. I feel like a camaleon, I feel like if I could be anyone you want me or need me to be, I can become your reflection, your dreamed friend, your lover. For example, do you like rock? I love it! Do you like animals? I want to become a veterinarian! Do you like politics? I am an expert at international politics! Do you like philosophy? That is my favorite hobbie!!! Are you into bdsm? Me too!!! I had done SOO many things that I did not like just because I just could not say NO to other people... And I feel ashamed and guilty for all that. I had been cruel, a slut, a nerd, a drug user... Just because I can't say no. I had totally betray myself in the past. Now... I do not know who am I... I really want to change, but it will be a big challenge for me... After all... Being a people pleaser is part of my soul. I just do not feel worthy of having my own opinions, worthy of happiness or honest love. Is like everyone else were much more important than myself.

@sourabhs14

1. Remind yourself that most humans can cope with contradiction, unwelcome information or occasional rejection. 2. Understand side effects of this behaviour. You are endangering people around you by not speaking frankly 3. Be artful about difficult message you to impart. Be firm in youe views but extremely genial as well. Craft your raw pain and needs into convincing explanations. Example- Say no, while indicating that you mean a lot of goodwill. Say someone is wrong, without implying that they are an idiot. Leave someone, while ensuring they realize how much a relationship meant to us. Be pleasant without being people pleaser Thank you TSoL. Thank you very much

@sherylpowell7624

Being a people pleaser really affected my mental health and my relationships with people. I started to become used and abused by people.

@Staciabailey14

Literally had a panic attack because I kept saying "YES, I'll do it for you no problem" When in actuality I barely had time to even eat a decent meal. Even if I really really didn't want to do something I get bombarded by the thoughts of how disappointed they would feel. It is not as simple as just saying NO. Believe me I have tried. Their response : It would mean the world to me, you would be helping so many people , come on, sure you have time. etc. The consequence: Because I keep saying yes , they keep asking for more. Ugh I hate this cycle.

@picapauhip8577

It took me a long time to realize where my people-pleasing tendencies came from. I realized the root cause was my family all along. My parents constantly had horrible fights and were extremely abusive to one another, and my mom was very abusive towards me as well. It caused me to develop anxiety and become afraid of conflict, so I turned into a people pleaser from an early age. Only after I moved out and cut off my family from my life I managed to overcome my fears and gained confidence to assert myself.

@kitarvin770

It's better to be hated for being who you really are rather than pretend to be someone in order to be loved.