Don’t live your life to please other people. – Oprah Winfrey

I have a love hate relationship when it comes to choices.  I love having choices, but I hate making decisions.  Most of the time, I’m fairly content to go along with what others want. This is usually where to go to eat, or what time to get together.  You know, the low key stuff.  There were a couple of times when I started to go along with other people for some big decisions, and they turned into unmitigated disasters.  I’ll not waste your time with the whys and wherefores of what happened. What I will do is tell you don’t.  Don’t go along with what other people want and think just to make them happy.  Your primary concern is your happiness, and you are the person you have to please.  I know our initial response is to want other people to like us and be happy with us, and the easiest way to do that is to do what they want.  Well, I’m telling you that you have to choose your own happiness above and beyond the happiness of others.  Because when it comes right down to it, if you’re not happy, the people around you won’t really be happy.  Again, I’m not saying don’t compromise, not at all.  But you also can’t go against what you believe just to make other people happy.  Your life, your choices, your successes and your failures.  Life your life to please you and put your happiness first. In the end everyone around you will be happier as well.

Now, I am not talking about doing something that is illegal, or neglecting responsibilities or anything like that.  But when it comes time to pick a course of study in college, or apply for a job, or even buy a house.  Think hard about what you want, and not what the wants of those people around you.  Sure your in-laws would be over the moon if you bought the place across the street, but are you ready to live in an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond?  Probably not. And will you really be happy working in the family mortuary business if you hate seeing dead people?  I don’t think so.  This is the only life you get, so live it for you, and not anybody else!!