Guilt can make it incredibly difficult to prioritise our own needs, particularly if we’ve learned that being ‘good’ means keeping other people happy. But feeling guilty doesn’t always mean we’ve done something wrong. Sometimes it simply means we’re learning to include ourselves in the choices we make.

Many people who struggle with people-pleasing unknowingly base their sense of self on how others react to them. Praise can feel reassuring, while criticism can quickly turn into self-doubt.

In this blog, I explore why people-pleasers often look outside themselves for validation, how comparison and feedback can shape self-worth, and how we can begin to reconnect with our own internal voice.