We Can't Expect Everyone To Like Us.

I know, this is one rule to happiness - to remember that we can't please everyone, that not all of the people we meet will like us. 

I should be mature enough to know this, right?

Well, yes. But, there are still situations when I get affected and feel bad every time I find myself confronted with this issue. I've been battling with my tendency to be a pleaser ever since I realized how bad the effect it was having on me, and in many instances I have succeeded.

Every now and then, though, comes a situation that brings back all the negative emotions I've tried to do away with during the past years. Every now and then, I would be facing a challenge that would put all my previous efforts to the test. And in certain instances, I would realize that I've not really totally gotten rid of this unhealthy tendency. And then I would feel like everything I've done has been put to waste, that I've not actually advanced from where I'd been before.

Here I am still, wanting to please people, feeling the need to get others' approval. And every time I get affected by others and feel bad about it, I know I'm not only feeling bad because someone doesn't like me. More than that, I feel bad because I realize that the pleaser in me is still here.

So, how should I react? I've always believed emotions are beyond our control, that they're neither right nor wrong. 

I realize I must forgive myself every time I feel this - every time I face a similar situation and fail. I shall get affected and feel bad, yes, but I must remember that this is part of the growth. That I'm not yet done growing. This could be a lifetime process, but that's life - some changes, especially big ones, take a long time to occur. 

I know I have to face whatever challenge is thrown my way. I know these are all part of the test, and someday I shall reach that level of maturity that I've been hoping for. So today I may fail, I may feel disappointed, but at the end of the grieving and the frustration I shall pick myself up and move forward, advancing a little from where I've been.

I shall make this!