Infatuation with Pleasing

Four words…thank goodness it's summer!

Yes, I LOVE Kansas State, more than anything, yet sometimes you just need a break. Adults take vacations…us students-well we take the entire summer! Of course for many of us summer isn’t just laying around on a beach with a coconut drink in our hand.  As a matter of fact, I would say that the majority of students spend their summer making money working hard, or gaining valuable career experiences through internships. 

The summer is overall a great catalyst to remind ourselves of who it is we should really be pleasing.

You may be thinking, “What are you talking about? I please number one, myself and that is it!” Well, for most of us this is not true.

It is human nature to desire to please others and receive positive affirmation I return. That may mean striving to please your parents, teachers, boss,  or friends. However, does it ever get to the point where your infatuation with pleasing others takes over your life?

 

A few weeks ago I was sitting in a work meeting when my boss asked who would be available to work a Saturday for a special banquet. While the other employees waited to respond (I’m sure because they were thinking about their previous plans), I eagerly volunteered—thus cancelling out any other plans I had for the day.

 

It wasn’t until Friday this past when my boss asked me how the semester ended up for me? Somehow, that question spurred into a conversation about me spending time in areas I really deemed important verses always trying to please other first.

 

It was at this moment that I realized my infatuation with pleasing others.

 

Whether it is being the team leader in a group project or volunteering to work for others on my days off, I love serving others! This is good to an extent, yet too much of anything is bad.

 

During my recent reading in the book A Purpose Driven Life, I have come to really reflect on whom I am trying to please. It is important to be our best for everyone—yet it is also important to please the one that really matters. It feels great to have others praise your hard work, yet if your hard work is not serving something larger than yourself, larger than us, then is that really how you want to spend your energy?

 

As the summer begins, it is a perfect time to re-evaluate who we are trying to please. Forget about those expectations of your family, forget about those few percentages that make up your grade for six months of your entire life, and think about how you will please that relationship that it truly important to you?

 

What are my summer plans? Well, as of right now I am sticking around Manhattan for two more weeks to assist with the KS State FFA Convention, and then on May 31^st leaving town to serve in an internship with Cargill in Wichita KS doing corporate training. During my term in Wichita with Cargill I hope to gain a new insight into a career I may be interested in, but more importantly I hope to take the extra time working on personal improvement. My goal is to work on improving my personal discipline in mind, body, and spirit (no, I have not become a hippie, just some one interested in being the best me I can be).

 

This summer, choose to say no to your infatuation with pleasing everyone around you, and ask yourself how will you improve who you are as a person? How will you serve those who really matter to you? Don’t just let this summer be a break from classes, but really use it. How will you be a better person when you return to school? Who do you really want to be and how can you get there?

 

I'll be working on it….will you take part in this journey? The choice is yours.