GHA
Well-Known Member
Making People Happy vs. Pleasing People — A Shift That Lifts Your Own Worth
Over the years, I’ve realised there’s a big difference between making people happy and pleasing people.
Pleasing is when you bend yourself out of shape — your time, your boundaries, even your priorities — just to meet someone else’s expectations. It often leaves you drained, overlooked, and unfulfilled.
Making people happy is different. It’s about offering something genuine, on your own terms. A kind gesture, a moment of understanding, or even just listening with sincerity. You give without losing your sense of self.
Here’s the shift:
When you please, you lower your own worth to gain someone else’s approval.
When you make happy, you strengthen your own worth because you know you’re giving from a place of confidence and choice.
The act itself can be healing — not only for the person who receives it, but for you as well. It reminds you that you have the power to make a difference without erasing yourself in the process.
One drains self-esteem. The other builds it.
Over the years, I’ve realised there’s a big difference between making people happy and pleasing people.
Pleasing is when you bend yourself out of shape — your time, your boundaries, even your priorities — just to meet someone else’s expectations. It often leaves you drained, overlooked, and unfulfilled.
Making people happy is different. It’s about offering something genuine, on your own terms. A kind gesture, a moment of understanding, or even just listening with sincerity. You give without losing your sense of self.
Here’s the shift:
When you please, you lower your own worth to gain someone else’s approval.
When you make happy, you strengthen your own worth because you know you’re giving from a place of confidence and choice.
The act itself can be healing — not only for the person who receives it, but for you as well. It reminds you that you have the power to make a difference without erasing yourself in the process.
One drains self-esteem. The other builds it.
