When you can’t please everyone…

Once, when she was about six years old, my youngest daughter Annie asked me a question that completely caught me off guard. 

This week I was reminded of that conversation.

She asked, “Mommy, do you have any enemies?”

I carefully explained, as best I could, that “enemy” was a pretty strong word, and while I wouldn’t consider anyone my enemy, that there were certainly people out there in the world who didn’t like me very much. 

That, of course, only brought more questions.

“Well do those people know you have a blog? Do they read it?”

I then tried to explain that just because I write things that some people like, doesn’t mean that everyone likes what I have to say.

“But doesn’t it make you sad that some people don’t like you?”

And what do you say to that?

Because the honest answer was yes, of course it makes me sad.

But in that moment, what I think I said was something to the effect of, “Well honey, you can never really please everyone, no matter how hard you try. You just have to do your best and do what you think is right, even if sometimes some people don’t like it.”

It was a conversation that struck a nerve, because it’s one I’ve had to remind myself of so many times over the years.

The truth is that there has rarely been a day in the past 14 years of running my business and putting myself out there on the internet that I haven’t gotten at least one angry email or comment or DM.

I accepted long ago that it’s just part of the job. 

Especially now that we live in a world that is so polarized. 

It’s almost impossible to say anything these days without offending someone.

But where do we draw the line?

This weekend, like most people, I was shocked and horrified by the assassination attempt on former President Trump. 

There are still a lot of questions about what happened, but it was sobering to see just how close he came to losing his life, just for daring to do what he believes is right.

But I will tell you, when he stood up, blood on his face, put his fist in the air, and yelled “fight, fight, fight,” I was deeply inspired.

Because that is a person who doesn’t quit.

At a moment he should have been cowering, not knowing if there were more bullets coming, he showed a level of courage that I could only wish to have someday.

Because I’ll be honest, there are days where the criticism really does get to me. Moments where I’d rather hide than keep going. Times where sometimes I think I should just go live a quiet life out in the country, because that would be so much easier than continuing to fight.

But then I wouldn’t be doing the work I was called to do.

So I have to keep going. To keep fighting. Even if I can’t please everyone.

And you do too.

Most of us spend a lot of our lives trying to live up to other people’s expectations. 

And while trying to make other people happy isn’t always a bad thing, it can be. Especially when it comes at the expense of following the path you were meant to be on, or prevents you from pursuing your goals and dreams.

Abraham Lincoln famously noted that “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”  Author Mark Batterson once stated the truth even more succinctly, “In the end, we play for an audience of One.” 

In other words? Don’t let your need to please prevent you from doing the work you were meant for.

And I guess that’s also my challenge for you this week: Identify an area in your life where you are letting your fear of criticism or of what other people might say prevent you from moving forward. What would it look like to give yourself permission to stop trying to please others, and to instead start pursuing that big goal or dream with courage?

It’s a big question, and there are no easy answers. But it’s still worth asking.

And then join me, won’t you, in praying for our country? 

Live with purpose, friend, and have a joy-filled week.

xoxo, Ruth

P.S. I always LOVE hearing back from you! Feel free to hit reply to this email to let me know how I can encourage you this week!

P.P.S. If you missed the last one, I’m hosting another LIVE training workshop on Thursday called Ditch the Diet: 3 Secrets for Sustainable Weight Loss That No One Is Talking About. It’s free to join, but you do have to register, which you can do HERE.

This week’s podcast episode…

What’s cooking in my kitchen…

Here’s the recipe I shared this past week:

The latest from my Instagram…

Instagram is my jam! If you’re there too, I’d love to connect with you—find me at @RuthSoukup or @ruthsoukupbiz for online business tips!

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