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People Pleasing Is Not Always Pleasing

Somewhat sheepishly, Anita approached me as participants were leaving an anger workshop I had just completed. “I came here,” she explained, “hoping to learn some things about the anger I see in both my husband and my father, but I’m leaving with a very different perspective of myself.”

On several occasions, as I taught the class of about thirty people, I had noticed that Anita seemed steeped in thought. So I took the opportunity to probe. “Can I assume that you’re having to admit that you struggle with anger too?”

“Yes, you certainly can assume that!” she replied emphatically. “You mentioned tonight how an angry person may not necessarily shout or slam doors or speak offensive words, but that anger can be demonstrated through depression and withdrawal and chronic frustration. That’s me! I’m so busy trying to figure out how to get along with people who have the more obvious forms of anger that I haven’t really taken the time to recognize my own problem with anger.”

We talked a few moments more. Then Anita asked, “Could I schedule some individual appointments with you? I think there’s quite a lot that we need to go over.”

In the following weeks, I got to know Anita’s story quite well, and I learned that her depression and frustrated emotions were the result of a long-standing pattern of people pleasing. “To say that my dad was strong-willed would be a polite understatement,” she told me. “I was barely allowed to think an original thought because he was so opinionated that he wouldn’t allow anyone to entertain ideas different from his. At a very early age, I became skilled at knowing how to gauge his mood and behave accordingly.”

“Do you remember being angry, or did you ever rebel against his heavy-handedness?” I asked.

“Well, as a teenager, there was lots of anger in our home, but it was mostly from my dad and my brother. Each had some real ‘bottle rocket’ moments. I guess you could say I had an attitude, but I never thought of myself as angry, at least in the traditional sense of the word. I felt frustrated a lot, but I never wanted anyone to know how much I hurt. It wasn’t safe to disclose needs in my home. So, yeah, I guess I had some anger, but mostly, I remember spending a lot of mental energy figuring out how to stay out of Dad’s way. I learned, for instance, that if I kept things clean around the house or if I brought home good grades, he’d go a little easier on me. My brother never could restrain himself, so he constantly argued with Dad and it got him nowhere. Dad would belittle him unmercifully. I realized that compliance got me a lot less grief, so compliant I was!”

“What about your mother? Where was she through all of this?”

Anita shook her head gently. “Well, let’s just say that she could be relatively easy to get along with when Dad wasn’t around, but it all changed when he’d come onto the scene.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take, for instance, an afternoon after school let out. Mom was usually pleasant until about six o’clock or so because that’s when Dad would come home; then she’d turn into a different person. She’d gripe if my brother or I ever did anything to make him mad. She’d be tense, and it was almost as if she was afraid to be too friendly toward me because Dad might criticize her for it.”

“So would it be safe to say that your mom had an unwritten rule that as soon as the boss got home, everyone had to shut down their own uniqueness in order to keep the peace?”

“Absolutely. I learned my compliance from the master teacher.”

Now a mother of two in her mid-thirties, Anita had similar experiences with her husband, Ted. Though he wasn’t the openly hostile person that her dad was, he was moody and not very attentive to her emotional needs. “I do everything I can to please Ted, but it never seems like he appreciates what I do for him. When I prepare his favorite meal, you’d never know if he likes it because he’s so stingy with compliments. Also, I bend over backwards keeping the kids where they need to be, but I only hear about it if I don’t do it right.”

At the end of one session, I asked Anita to make a list of her compliant behaviors that seemed to go unappreciated by others. The next week she brought in thirty-eight examples! Among them were:

On and on the list went as Anita recounted the many instances in which she had set aside her own legitimate needs in order to make someone else happy or to keep them appeased. As she completed the reading of her list, I heaved a great sigh and remarked, “Wow! All that effort to satisfy everyone else must be emotionally draining! No wonder depression and frustration visit you so often. You’re wearing yourself out.”

Can you relate to Anita’s plight? If so, you may be in a pattern of unhealthy people pleasing.

Do you find yourself going into a mode of self-deferral to the extent that you feel others are taking advantage of your good nature? What are a few examples from your life?

As we tackle this subject, let’s first put the issue of people pleasing into proper perspective by asking: Is it wrong to be pleasing? The answer, of course, is no. Not only is being pleasing not a bad characteristic, it is good and necessary if families and organizations are going to grow and thrive. Our world leans too much in the direction of self-absorption and insensitivity, so it is wonderfully refreshing to find persons who take it upon themselves to be an uplifting, tuned-in presence in others’ lives. Goodness, kindness, sacrifice, and helpfulness certainly have a place in healthy relationships.

As you might imagine, though, it’s possible to carry good characteristics too far, to the extent that they actually feed unhealthy emotions or relational habits.

In Anita’s case, she had committed her entire life to being friendly, available, or flexible. It would be hard to chastise her for that. Yet, the overuse of those traits directly contributed to her depression and a simmering anger. As the years had passed and the number of frustrating incidents piled up, she had found herself less and less effective in her primary relationships.

To put it in her own words, “I’m getting to the point where I dread talking to anyone because I don’t know what they’re going to ask of me next.”

Unhealthy people pleasing can be defined as the tendency to cater to others’ preferences to the detriment of personal well-being. Contrary to the ideal of serving others unselfishly, it is fed by a pessimistic mind-set that presumes that openness and servitude can become problematic.

In one session, Anita told me, “From the days of my youth, I’ve been trained to believe in the virtues of friendliness, forgiveness, and tolerance. I still want to believe in those traits, but I guess I’m having to learn the other side of the equation. No one ever talked with me about how I’m supposed to respond when people are rude, manipulative, or self-centered. Looks like I’m going to have to toughen up so I don’t feel used.”

“I agree with you about the toughening-up part,” I replied, “although we both would agree that our goal is not to make you over into a mean-as-the-devil tyrant who won’t take any trash off of anyone.”

We both chuckled as we realized that would never happen anyway.

As you too consider making adjustments to bring your people pleasing at a healthy balance, first recognize that awareness will be a necessary ingredient in the change process. You will need to take a full inventory of yourself, as Anita did, to determine just how extensive this pattern is in your life.

To put that awareness into practice, look over the following statements common to people pleasers and check the ones that apply to you:

  1. I have opinions about right and wrong, yet I will not always stand firm when faced with a persuasive person.
  2. I can be motivated by guilt.
  3. It really bothers me if I have upset someone.
  4. I feel that I try harder to make relationships work than others do.
  5. People would be surprised to know about the resentment that is bottled up inside me.
  6. When another person is angry, I go into the appeaser mode.
  7. If my decisions are called into question, I feel I’d better have a good justification.
  8. When I do something for my own pleasure, I may feel selfish.
  9. Too often, I’ll do someone else’s chores because they won’t do them.
  10. Sometimes I just try too hard to be nice.
  11. I have to tread lightly due to key people who are moody.
  12. It seems as though my world is full of requirements and duties.
  13. With certain people, I find myself measuring my words very carefully.
  14. Even when I am nice to others, it seems they still want more.
  15. There are times when I just give up on being taken seriously or feeling understood.
  16. I can let people determine too much of my schedule or priorities.
  17. Too often, I explain my reasoning over and over, even when it’s obvious that the other person won’t hear what I have to say.
  18. I have stayed in bad relationships long after I knew they were not good for me.
  19. Being firm can be hard for me at times.
  20. It seems that others will accept me only if I conform to their ways.

Most of us have had circumstances where we have bent too far in the direction of other peoples’ whims or demands. However, if you find yourself doing this frequently, it may indicate that people pleasing is your downfall. Let’s look at your people-pleasing quotient by adding up how many items you put a check beside in the previous list:

Checks Observations

0–5

People pleasing is not a dominant trait. In fact, you may lean more in the direction of a headstrong relationship pattern.

6–9

You may have moments when your people pleasing produces some compromising tendencies, but you would also be expected to balance that tendency with proper assertiveness.

10–20

You are likely to have frequent moments when you are too accommodating for your own good. There is a strong likelihood that you set aside your own preferences for the sake of trying to keep others satisfied . . . and it is also likely that those efforts do not produce rewarding results.

The Requirements of People Pleasing

Most people pleasers have lived so long with controlling, imposing people that they automatically acquiesce to certain do’s and don’ts such that this pattern of behavior has become unquestioned. Despite consistent attempts to appease them, the controllers remain judgmental, causing the pleaser to become wary about being authentic and voicing any residual discomfort or doubt. Over time, perhaps subconsciously, the pleaser succumbs to unspoken rules of engagement that perpetuate an inner strain in order to keep an outer semblance of peace.

Before we look closely at the people pleaser’s needs, let’s first examine four self-imposed requirements that often accompany this behavioral pattern.

People-Pleasing Requirement #1:
Being Responsible for What Is Not Yours

A central component in healthy, thriving relationships is the willingness of each individual to be responsible for personal issues. For instance, if a man has a problem with his temper, it is his job to say, “I know this is wrong, and I need to learn how to handle my anger appropriately.” If a woman succumbs too easily into unhealthy behaviors driven by insecurity, it is her job to examine the thinking patterns that are bringing her down. In these circumstances, it would be wrong to assume that others around them must behave a certain way before that temper or that insecurity can be remedied. Whereas we are each somewhat dependent upon our circumstances to bring us some measure of satisfaction, we each also have the capability to rise above difficult circumstances to chart a course toward full and productive patterns.

People pleasers, however, tend to overlook the reality that others are responsible for their own problems. Instead, they tell themselves, “I must be the one to act in such a way that other people keep feeling good.” Or at the very least, they think, “I’ve got to respond in a way that keeps that person from being so angry.” Whether through others’ manipulation or their own sense of false guilt, they take on the role of problem solver when they do not belong there.

Anita, for instance, told me, “Ted likes spending time with our daughters, but sometimes I worry that they are going to be rambunctious and set him off. You know how kids can be!”

“So what do you do when you sense your girls are becoming agitated around your husband?”

“Panic may be too strong of a word, but my anxiety definitely goes way up. I know he gets too cranky sometimes, so I often will redirect the girls onto something else, or I may take one or both of them with me to run an errand.”

“Would you say this contributes to some of the burnout you often experience?” I asked.

“Oh, definitely! I constantly feel like it’s my job to keep the peace, but it wears me out sometimes because it’s so hard to stay a step ahead of a nine-year-old and a five-year-old. I micromanage the girls’ behavior when he’s around because I don’t want him to go into his anger mode.”

Do you see the error in Anita’s family interaction? She knows her husband has a temper, so quite naturally she would prefer to be free from its ill effects. Yet she is overlooking an undeniable truth—she is not responsible for controlling Ted’s moods! That’s his job. While there may be moments when she could be a soothing presence, there are also moments when she can’t run interference. She can’t always direct Ted’s moods or the girls’ reactions to him.

Somewhere along the way (usually early in life) people pleasers have picked up the erroneous notion that they must assume responsibility for other people’s moods. Do you remember Anita’s description of her early years with her father? She had assumed that she should be very calculating around him so she would not upset or displease him. Though she was not directly told that she was responsible for his mood, that is the assumption she made. And in her adult years, she generalized that thought by taking responsibility for the moods of anyone close to her.

How about you? In what circumstances do you take responsibility for others’ moods or behaviors—things they should be taking upon themselves?

While it is good and desirable for you to be attentive to the way your choices affect others, you cross the line of healthy behavior when you make yourself primarily responsible for others’ actions.

People-Pleasing Requirement #2:
Enabling Others to Be Unhealthy

When people pleasers assume unnecessary responsibility for others, it sets into motion the possibility of an even deeper problem—enabling others in their unhealthy ways.

In an ideal world, you would expect that your acts of kindness or your attempts to be sensitive would not only be met with appreciation, but they would be reciprocated in fair measure. Ideally you could think, “I’ll treat you nice with the calm assurance that you will do the same in reverse.”

This is no ideal world! People can be unappreciative, argumentative, unwilling to compromise, and manipulative. Therefore, when you act in pleasing ways, there is a possibility that others will think, “This is an excellent opportunity for me to indulge my selfish desires.” Not every person is this way, but enough people are that it warrants caution when you choose to serve others. Only naive people assume that their pleasing behavior will be universally met with right responses.

When people pleasers go too far in their pleasant ways, they may inadvertently be guilty of encouraging others to continue in selfish or disrespectful behavior. Instead of receiving kind gestures with a spirit of gratitude, some people respond with an attitude of entitlement. In the midst of their selfishness, they may think, “I expect you to continue treating me special . . . and don’t even think that I’m supposed to let go of my rude behavior.” As you continue to play the appeaser role, you then encourage that person to sustain behavior that is clearly wrong. This is called enablement.

For instance, Anita told me of an incident when her husband left her at home sweating over heavy yard work while he went to a sports bar to watch a ball game. They had specifically agreed to finish the project together before going on to other activities. “But you have to understand Ted. He does this stuff to me constantly. He may initially agree to help with a chore, but before you know it, I wind up doing it all!”

“Why do you suppose he does this?” I asked.

Her answer was the classic response of an enabler—“Because he knows I’ll do it.” It never dawned on Anita to save the chore for him to complete later. “I’ll take care of it myself” was her motto, and Ted was milking it for all he could.

Do you ever find yourself in the enabler role? If so, your people pleasing may actually be irresponsible on your part because it ultimately keeps others’ bad habits and attitudes in motion and unchecked.

Could you add some more examples to this list?

People-Pleasing Requirement #3:
Denying What Is Healthy

I have spoken with parents of teenagers who say, “I’d rather let my son and his friends have their beer parties here at home than drink behind my back where it is far less safe.”

I have heard employees say, “I know that I take on more work than I’m required to, but I want to be sure that we stay in business, so I’ve got to do it.”

I have heard people say of their friends, “Maybe I don’t agree with her lifestyle choices, but she needs me to be there for her, so sometimes you’ve just got to compromise for the future of the relationship.”

In each of these scenarios, the people pleasers are presumably being nice because they have higher goals to achieve, and that can sometimes be a good thing. In many instances, though, they are openly abetting unhealthy choices because they are afraid of others’ reactions if they choose to do what is wiser. Being able to point to their own cooperative or “helpful” behavior, these people pleasers can fool themselves into sidestepping the difficult choices that often come alongside firm values. They deny their own healthy priorities in order to curry the favor of the other.

As an example, Anita told me how she was frustrated with her parents’ insistence that they must always celebrate her children’s birthdays at their home. “Ted’s family lives fairly near, but they are always given the leftover times with my kids. I know they don’t like it, and I’d really like to accommodate them. I don’t want to hassle with my parents’ anger, so we just go along with my parents’ wishes to avoid the fuss.”

Was Anita’s management of this dilemma good? Not really. It would be fair for her to tell her parents that she wanted the other set of grandparents to have special times with the kids too. As a daughter-in-law, it would be fair to consider coordination with the extended family, but in her efforts to please her parents, she felt required to deny the healthiness of such fair-mindedness, choosing instead to adhere blindly to a lopsided way of thinking.

It may be troubling to admit, but other people may be unable or unwilling to recognize the unhealthiness of their controlling attitudes. For example, the teens who want to get drunk or the employers who take advantage of their employees or the friends who choose poor values may each have their rationale for doing what they do. Yet despite their rationale, they can still be wrong! People pleasers can mistakenly assume that they have to keep peace with these folks, so they often blindly overlook others’ unhealthy priorities for the sake of getting along.

People-Pleasing Requirement #4:
Showing Disrespect Toward Yourself

Suppose you talk with me about something heavy on your heart. You pour your emotions out, hoping to receive some friendly encouragement. Instead, I reply, “Why don’t you just face the reality that your feelings and perspectives don’t matter?” How would you feel?

If I spoke in an openly insulting manner, you would be deeply offended. You would cry foul, and you would probably decide never to be open with me again.

No one likes to be insulted or belittled; yet despite their normal, healthy desire for respect, people pleasers often find themselves in a position of being disrespected. What is most absurd is that the people showing the most disrespect to people pleasers is themselves!

Think back on some of the instances Anita described.

What was her reaction? She would go along with it! It is clear that these key people showed low regard at times for her value, but the real tragedy lay in the fact that Anita did not respect herself either. Though she may not have verbalized it, her behavior indicated that she did not hold her own decisions or beliefs in high regard.

You may realize that others do not factor in your needs as they interact with you, but are you aware that your over-compliance may indicate that you agree with their low assessment of you?

Have you ever thought of your people pleasing this way? Do you agree or disagree with it? Why?

As we consider the goal of bringing people-pleasing behavior into balance, let’s affirm that we do not need to go to the other extreme of being completely self-absorbed or blatantly insensitive to others’ needs. That would be too strong of a pendulum swing. But let’s affirm that we do want to pursue interpersonal behaviors that uphold human dignity . . . toward other people in our lives and toward ourselves.

I spoke with Anita about finding balance in her key relationships. “I deeply respect your desire to be a cooperative and uplifting presence in the lives of those closest to you. We need more people in our world like you who are conscientious about their behavior’s impact upon someone else’s quality of life. My concern, as I listen to your story, is that you have taken a good trait too far. Unfortunately, you can encounter some people who are willing to respond to your good nature by using you for their own selfish gain, and that’s not good. In fact, let’s take the thought one step further by saying that there can be instances when your people pleasing is an act of irresponsibility.”

That last statement startled her. “Irresponsible? I could think of a lot of words to describe me, but that would not be one of them.” She sat for a moment in silent reflection then said, “But I understand what you are saying. For several years, I’ve been having this nagging discomfort as I felt that something wasn’t right in my life.”

“Anita, when you experience emotions like depression or anxiety or lingering frustration, that can be your mind’s way of signaling that something is not right within yourself. Those emotions can be red flags indicating that you need some new directions.”

“That’s an interesting way to look at it,” she replied. Nodding her head cautiously, she said, “Boy, I’ve got some changing to do. I can see where I need to be different, but it’s going to require a monumental effort, and a shock to others’ systems, if I am going to reverse some of my patterns.”

“I’m basing my thoughts on the notion that you can’t really afford to continue a lifestyle that ultimately is so disrespectful toward yourself. In the name of being kind to others, you are letting yourself be treated, at times, with indignity. If that is not addressed, the emotional garbage is going to accumulate so much inside that eventually you will be no good to anyone.”

Can you relate? In what way is your people pleasing linked to feelings of disrespect toward yourself?

In what order would you rank these four basic requirements of people pleasers in your own life, with 1 being the most acute, and 4 being the least of a problem?

I too often take on responsibilities that belong to someone else.

My actions enable those around me to persist in selfish behaviors.

I’m reluctant to address matters in others’ lives that are actually causing harm.

My people pleasing is in effect an extension of my low self-esteem.

As you continue reading and working through this book, it is my desire that you maintain your loving and giving nature but that you do it in a responsible fashion. Sometimes the most loving behavior is not comfortable. Sometimes loving behavior requires limits, and it may cause others to feel frustrated with you. Sometimes loving firmness will be met with resistance, yet in love you can hold your ground anyway. Can you handle that?

The good news is this: When you learn to maintain solid boundaries, and as you gain balance between pleasing behavior and assertiveness, get ready for some major improvements in your relationships. You can expect to have a cleaner emotional system yourself, which can translate into more rewarding relationships.

To bring balance to your people pleasing, I will be walking you through four areas:

  1. In the first section, we will develop an awareness of the factors that are a part of excessive people pleasing, and how the negative effects of people pleasing will play out in your emotions.
  2. In the second section, we will examine how your people pleasing developed. We will examine some of the early teachings and experiences common to people with this pattern for the purpose of identifying alternatives to your old habits.
  3. In the third section, we will look more intently at the traits needed to keep you from going too far in your pleasing behavior. We will explore, for instance, how to get away from a mind-set of duty, developing instead an approach toward life grounded in freedom. Also, we will affirm the necessity of boundaries and firmness and assertiveness.
  4. Then finally, we will look at ways to apply your balanced thinking to common settings . . . with your mate, your children, and your coworkers.

As Anita counseled with me, she smiled as she said, “I had no idea that my pleasing behavior could be tied to so many issues. Looks like I’ve got some waking up to do.” Would you be able to echo Anita’s response? Armed with awareness of healthy and safe patterns of emotional management, you too can expect to find optimism instead of carrying burdens that do not belong on your shoulders.