Life was so much easier when people made my decisions for me. Except nowadays when people try to tell me what to do, I get upset and don’t want to do what they tell me to do. Is this adulthood?

I have always been a people-pleaser. When I was a kid, I was a teacher’s pet every year, so my grades were amazing (and I rarely stayed in trouble, which was a huge plus). But even then, I spent more time trying to get everyone around me to like me, instead of figuring out who I was. Being told that you’re not good enough for someone is terrible, and assuming it because of how they treat you is almost worse.

Now that I’m an adult (kind of), I still try to get people to like me (because I’m awesome and everyone should like me), but I also try not to get fixated on if someone approves of me or not. It’s upsetting and disappointing, but I’m getting too old to waste my time being around people that I don’t actually want to be around me, or vice versa. Same thing with social activities. I’m going out a lot less than I was because I started to see my grades decline and my scale incline, when I’ve wanted it to be the other way around.

I’ve NEVER been the decisive kind of person (Mom will agree to that), but it is something I’m working on. I need to take charge of my life, and part of that is saying “no” to things that I really don’t want to do. It’s not easy, but decisions rarely are. Dad would tell me, “A bad decision is better than not making a decision at all”. I’d rather make a good decision, but taking action in general is better than watching your life go by and going with the flow because you’re too afraid to decide for yourself.

Take action. Unless it is harmful to you or others.