I'm a "people-pleaser"...

I am definitely a "people-pleaser"...I love making people happy, whether it is by simply not making them mad, or by sending a note in the mail, or by cooking dinner for friends...I usually cannot handle it when people are upset with me, or mad at me for any reason...and I usually blame myself if anything goes wrong in friendships.

Lately, though, I've noticed that in the past I tended to change who I am in order to make certain people happy...I would hear one say something critical about something, and I would make every effort to not be that way, because I was afraid of losing their friendship. For instance, the "redneck" stuff I posted about the other day...I had a friend didn't like anything of that nature, so I refrained from talking about my like of bluegrass, just because I was afraid of losing that friendship if that person saw who I really was (that's not the only thing I changed). I tried to be someone I wasn't--and succeeded for awhile. Though I wasn't truly "happy" with the changes, I didn't know why...

Why on earth did I ever feel the need to change?

One of the things that I am beginning to work through is gaining a healthy perspective of myself, and a new confidence to be who God has created me to be...no regrets, no holding back. I struggle with self-confidence issues, and have decided that now is the time to get rid of those, as well as some other issues. And since writing is therapeutic to me, I decided to write about them here. So there may be more posts of this nature in the future...and any advice on how to deal with these things is welcomed!

It's going to be a long process, but it will be worth it all in the end...