Were You A People Pleaser? You Must Be Good at These.
“Does people-pleasing even have an upside?”
This question popped into my head and didn’t want to leave as I was transitioning from being a people-pleaser to becoming who I am today.
You see, why the thought wouldn’t go away from my head was because I needed to reflect on whether who I used to be added any value to the person I was becoming — yes, existential crisis for some of you, but eye-opener for me.
What comes now is a set of skills I had developed from this ‘flaw’ of mine. If you are a people-pleaser just like I used to be, I’m guessing you have them too. :’)
- It helped me read people better.
How often have you found yourself adapting to a situation? Chances are, you read the room and understood what persona of yours would help you fit in.
I see a mighty chameleon in you! And you know what, it’s a great skill to have.
Why? Negotiations! Think of it. You have the leverage they don’t — you know what they want.
2. It helped me become empathetic.
We are social animals, we need a community to thrive. And as people-pleasers, we know that better than anyone. Empathy is deeply engrained in us that makes us likable.
How else would you pick up your friend’s call at 2 in the night?
To be able to care is a blessing. You’re making the world kinder. :)
3. It helped me to develop excellent communication skills.
Reading people and empathy has a compound effect on communication skills.
Does that come to you as a shocker? I hope not. Yes, we fine-tune our words to please, but one of the benefits of that is we become more adaptable people, knowing when to talk and what to say at the right time. Trust me, it’s a skill people wish to have.
I have many friends, which frequently makes people curious to ask me, “Saptashi, how do you have such a wide circle of friends?”
Guess, how? It all goes back to the skills I had developed from the flaw I left. :)
Final words: When we transition, it often happens that we forget to look at the brighter side of some ‘flaws’ we might have. But look deeper, you’ll find them smiling back at you, reassuring you that you really are okay.
