“Every man’s island…Every man’s watchman, is his conscious.” – Harper Lee from Go Set A Watchman

It’s hard when you’re a people pleaser. The term “people pleaser” gets such a bad connotation applied to it because it implies that you care too much about what people think or that you don’t stand up for what you believe in. That’s not always the case though. I know and understand. Coming from a family that has always expected very much from me and always pushes me to be even more than I think I’m capable of sometimes, you learn to try to make them happy. You want them to be proud of you. Which this doesn’t mean that you aren’t doing it for yourself as well, it just means that you know that they love you very much and you don’t want to let them down. And that’s completely understandable.

They love you, have cared for you, maybe even when no one else has. It doesn’t even have to be your family; it can be your friend, boyfriend, cousin, grandmother, coach, whoever. If you’re lucky like me, many times your views and what you want out of life is exactly what they want for you as well. I’m blessed to come from a family that always pushes me to be my absolute best, but also wants me to do what makes me happy. Although there are some instances where differences have come to light.

It’s during these times that what you want and what you feel probably makes no sense to your family or friends. They are wondering literally what in the world you are doing, and with them doing that, it makes you wonder if you should listen to their questioning. They’ve been around a lot longer than you, right? So they probably know.

Well, maybe sometimes, but not all the time. When it comes right down to it, only you can feel what you need to do. It may make absolutely no sense to anybody around you, but if it makes sense to you, that’s what really matters. Many times our friends and family just want what is best for us, but that being said, they don’t know everything sometimes. I’m not saying that their opinions should be thrown aside about all things, but we must know our feelings and listen to our own hearts in order to fulfill what God has laid upon our hearts. What you’re supposed to do may be a small puzzle piece in the plan not only helping you, but perhaps helping and leading someone else in the right direction.

Sometimes the best things are those that don’t make sense. When something is laid upon your heart and conscience and you just KNOW that that’s what you need to do, you should probably do it. At the end of the day, you know yourself better than anybody. People’s opinions matter, but people’s opinions of you and what you’re doing do not.

At the end of the day, you have a mind. God gave you a voice, the power of freewill, and the intelligence to get where you need to get going and the power to do what you need to do. This is a very precious gift. As humans, we’re put on this Earth for a reason--- We shouldn’t let those reasons go to waste because of the opinions of others that have their own reasons of living to learn, do, and fulfill.