You want to know the truth? I’ve known for about 1.5-2 months that I didn’t want to do the Marathon I signed up for….but It took me till 2 weeks ago to actually ‘quit.’ WHY???
Because I didn’t want to let anyone down, I didn’t want to ‘fail’ them or me but honestly, I didn’t want to do it. BUT I waited 2ish months to come up a ‘good excuse’ before doing it. I did, I found a great ‘excuse’ for bailing but you know what it shouldn’t matter. I’m an adult, I did not make a commitment to a team, I wasn’t actually letting anyone down…so why on earth does it matter???
So I’m not going to share my ‘good excuse’ I’m simply going to say this: running a marathon wasn’t right for me this year. Next year? In 5 years? I don’t know, maybe. I have no doubt that I will consider running one again but I honestly have no idea what my decision will be. I guess we will all just have to wait and see.
Now on to the bigger issue, being a people pleaser is a lot of work. It’s exhausting to not only make a decision for yourself but to always consider EVERYONE else’s thoughts in opinions into that decision. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying you should make only the decisions that are best for you, you NEED to consider how those decisions will impact those closest to you. Your spouse, children, parents, friends, work whatever. Depending on what the decision is at least some of those people should probably be part of the consideration BUT in the end, it is not MY job to keep them happy 24/7.
“It’s not MY job to keep them happy 24/7”
Now there is a hard concept, it hurts my heart when those around me are sad/mad/disappointed even if it is in no way my fault. This is another one of those things to file under the heading of “I know this to be true so why is it so hard to change it?” along with better sleep habits.
Do I have a solution? Nope, it’s one decision at a time but the more I acknowledge it the better I get so here is another decision down.