I had to ask myself this question at one time. People pleasing used to wreak havoc in my life fourteen years ago. I had no idea at the time, that it was robbing me of piece of mind and prevented me from pursuing my dreams. Learning to allow myself to be happy and not spread myself so thin was truly a gamechanger. This article is insightful about recognizing people pleasing patterns.
Are you a people pleaser? Here are 12 signs to look out for.
1. You often feel like a doormat-
You are taken advantage of. People can do whatever they want to you because you won’t do anything about it. They can hurt you, use you and you just let them.
2. You worry about hurting others feelings-
You watch everything you say because you want to make sure no one has their feelings hurt. You put people’s feelings ahead of your own.
3. You believe you are less than others-
You tend to think everyone is better than you and that they have something over you.
4. You avoid giving yourself credit for anything-
If you worked on a group project or got very little help from someone, you always make sure to not take the credit or all the credit. You feel as if that is wrong and that everyone else should have credit over you.
5. You easily attract people who need to be rescued or consoled-
Friends and family come to you with their problems or to fix things for them because they know you will drop everything to listen or help them.
6. You have a fear of letting down others-
You go above and beyond what’s normal, lose sleep over things and do whatever you can to make sure you never let anyone down. You keep most plans and try to never let anyone be mad at you. You continue to do what everyone else would rather do because you do not want to let them down.
7. You’re constantly apologizing-
You apologize for everything, even when you didn’t do anything wrong because you blame yourself for things, or others know you will take the blame for it.
8. You rarely ask for or accept help-
You rarely ask for help because you don’t want to be a pain to anyone. You want everyone to feel like you can do it yourself and that you don’t need anyone.
9. You hate confrontation-
If someone is mad at you for something or you have to face a hard decision, you try to stay away from confrontation at all times because you don’t want to fight with anyone or argue.
10. You’re nice and helpful to everyone you meet, including people you dislike-
You try to make sure everyone feels good about themselves — even people who have done you wrong more than once. You are kind to them because you feel like it’s the right thing to do.
11. You can always be counted on for a favor-
People can always count on you for favors because you will do anything for others to avoid letting them down. You go out of your way to help them, even if you don’t have time.
12. Always get your work done, never miss deadlines and will pick up extra work because you don’t know how to say you’re busy-
Again, you’re always trying to please people by doing whatever is needed, even if you do not have time for it.
This article is by Lisa Thompson for elite daily.com