"Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity." -- Colin Powell 

I used to fall into that trap. We people pleasers want everyone to like us. We people pleasers have to learn to first please ourselves.

There are many tangents of discussion we could take from that Colin Powell quote. How about the idea of trying to get everyone to like you? How can anyone possibly even try that?

What would that take? For you, I will sing a song. For you, I will tap dance. For you, I will ride a trick pony. For you, I will roll you a joint. For you, I will tell a dirty joke. For you, I will tell a clean joke. For you, I will tell no jokes and only discuss politics. For you, I will be bold and boisterous. For you, I will be shy and demure. 

How can we try to get anyone to like us ever? Didn't we all have a crush in junior high and it didn't matter how hard we tried, we couldn't make him/her like us.

We cannot make anybody like us, ever. 

We can however learn to like ourselves. As much as I still am a recovering people pleaser, I have learned that I have to be true to my heart. I first have to like me. When I really truly like me, it is easier to accept that not everyone is going to think I'm the bee's knees. 

The crazy thing is that the more I grow in my self-confidence, the more people I attract into my world. I feel good about me. People like that and want for themselves. When I stopped worrying about being a people pleaser, I became more pleasing to people. Go figure. 

Right here, right now, stop trying to make anyone but yourself see how groovy you are. You are fabulous. You are magnificent. You are shiny and wonderful. You cannot be all things to all people. All you have to be is you. And that is anything but mediocre.