She Tried So Hard to Please—Until She Couldn't Anymore
I’ve worked with so many women who share this story - and for a long time, it was mine too.
This is the story of a young woman who came into the world conditioned to please.
From an early age, she was taught - both by words and by the unspoken - that her worth was tied to how well she could meet the needs and expectations of others.
So she tried.
She tried with her whole heart.
She wanted so deeply to make everyone around her happy - friends, family, colleagues, even strangers. She gave her best to every relationship. But no matter how much she offered, it never felt like enough.
She kept hoping.
Hoping her efforts would be noticed.
Hoping someone would truly see her.
Hoping one day she’d feel whole.
But eventually, the weight of it all became too much.
The pressure, the exhaustion, the constant internal questioning - Am I enough? Am I doing this right? - it all brought her to a breaking point.
So she ran.
Not out of weakness, but out of necessity.
She created distance between herself and the demands of the world, hoping to breathe. But even in her escape, the old patterns followed. The need to please. The fear of getting it wrong. The ache of not knowing who she was beyond everyone else’s expectations.
Then came another breaking point.
Quieter this time.
She didn’t scream or fall apart.
She simply stopped.
She threw her hands up, and everything she had been clinging to scattered.
For a moment, there was relief.
And then… the emptiness.
How do you navigate life when the map you've followed no longer makes sense?
How do you begin again when you’ve forgotten how to listen to yourself?
In the darkness, she began a new kind of journey.
Not a straight path. Not a perfect one.
But a return to self.
Pleasing others was no longer possible - not in the way she once did. She simply couldn’t do it anymore. She had given away so much of herself that there was nothing left.
So, she turned inward.
She started walking her own path - messy, tender, and uncertain.
And maybe… like her, you’ve heard it too:
That quiet (or not-so-quiet) voice within that whispers, There’s more to life than this.
She discovered something beautiful:
We can teach ourselves to live differently.
We can reclaim our lives - not with force, but with truth.
Through healing, through new perspectives, through grace, we begin to remember who we truly are.
We stop living from the scripts others gave us and start shaping a life that feels like our own.
A life that breathes. A life that expands. A life that makes space for joy.
This doesn’t mean life stops being messy. Emotions will still rise. Challenges won’t disappear. But when we learn to listen to ourselves - when we stand in our own authority, not as a victim or a performer but as a whole, sovereign being - we access a strength we didn’t know we had.
It’s freeing.
It’s transformative.
It’s real.
To live a life filled with beauty, connection, love, and authenticity - not because we’ve earned it, but because we finally believe we deserve it.
So now, I gently ask you:
Can you see yourself in her story?
What are you doing to tune into your own truth?
If something in this resonates - if you're ready to step out of the pattern of pleasing and into the power of remembering who you are - I’d be honored to walk alongside you.
Reach out to book a session or connect with me.
You are not alone.
With love,
Susan