A Surprising Truth About People-Pleasing + How to Stop Without Feeling Guilty || with Michelle Gauthier

People don't love when I say this, but I do think at its core, when we people please, we sometimes think we're being nice, but I think what we're being is controlling.

And I say that because we're trying to control the way that other people are seeing us.

Hi, this is Monica Packer, and you're listening to About Progress, where we are about progress made practical.

People-pleasing can look a lot like being a good or nice person.

You're really helpful, you're dependable, you're easygoing.

You show up, you say yes, and you try not to disappoint anyone.

But what happens when keeping everyone else happy consistently comes at your own expense? Today I'm talking with Michelle Gothier about the sneaky ways people pleasing shows up in our lives and why it's often less about being nice and more about trying to control how other people see us.

We talk about how to spot people pleasing, its connection to perfectionism and a simple tool that can help you stop automatically saying yes and start making yourself part of the decision making process.

This episode came at the right time for me.

I'm in a place of a lot of overwhelm, a lot of tasks.

I've been saying yes to a lot of people.

And some of those yeses, I was navigating in the middle of preparing this episode.

So I was so grateful that I had this information on my side as I navigated through some of those question marks.

Before we listen, I want to remind you that this is your last chance, if you're listening on the date this airs, to sign up for About Progress Live.

It's my first live podcast recording I'm hosting on August 31st in Salt Lake City, Utah.

It's a free event, and it's to celebrate 10 years of About Progress and the book.

And you can buy a copy of the book there a week in advance of publication.

I'll get to sign them.

I get to meet you.

We have light refreshments.

It should be a wonderful evening.

You can get your free ticket at aboutprogress.com slash live.

You can bring a friend or two or three or 10.

Just make sure they each sign up so that we can ensure we have enough seats and enough refreshments.

So again, aboutprogress.com slash live.

And one more thing, as we're listening to this episode, I know someone is going to come to mind for you.

If you find this information helpful, make sure you copy the URL of this episode and text it to them as you listen.

My conversation with Michelle Gothier is coming up after a quick break for our sponsors.