Well hello to you my reader chums! I'm a self-confessed people pleaser and spend way too much of my existence trying to help and please other people, rather than focus on my own needs, wants and goals. However, as I've grown older, I've gotten better at putting my needs first, and prioritising myself and what I'm doing with my life.

If you're a people pleaser and trying to focus on yourself more, here are my 5 tips on how to put yourself first.

Boundaries are essential to protect your peace and your mental health and wellbeing. Setting boundaries can have anything to do with how people make you feel, removing yourself from certain situations, not overbooking your calendar or asking for more reciprocal energy from someone. Boundaries work differently for everyone and can be challenging to implement, depending on who you're asking to set a boundary with. Find the boundaries important to you and try to communicate them to your loved ones, either when a situation arises or to prevent future circumstances. 

Learn to say no

Saying no is having love and respect for yourself as it shows you're not doing something to please someone else, but following your own heart. Nothing is easy in life but people-pleasing and following paths that aren't right for you won't make you any happier. By saying no, you can move away from circumstances that don't align or serve you, helping you put yourself first instead of plastering on a fake smile.

Stop yourself from unnecessarily apologising

I have to admit I unnecessarily apologise all of the time and that's an effect of people pleasing that honestly, I hate. There's no need for it and I'm ever so slowly getting better at not apologising for unnecessary things, however, it's not easy. When you feel about to apologise, catch yourself and remind yourself you don't need to apologise at that moment.

Practice regular affirmations

Regular affirmations are a brilliant way to reassure yourself of how great you are, building your self-esteem which defeats low self-worth and can make you feel better about yourself overall. Affirmations can be practised as often as possible, whether that's every morning or every night.

Practice self-love and reassurance

In the same breath, practising self-love is another way to reaffirm your self-worth and hyping yourself up. By loving yourself and having more respect for yourself, it makes it easier to put yourself first - and prevent yourself people pleasing.

Understand that you're not a bad person for setting boundaries

Setting boundaries doesn't make you harsh or horrible, it means you have respect and love for yourself to set them in the first place. And, when doing that, other people will have more respect and love for you as they can see you're living a life authentic and right for you.

Always stay true to yourself

Your authentic self deserves to be seen and heard and by practising that true energy, you can live a more fulfilling life and beat the woes of people pleasing.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post. What would you add?

Thank you for reading <3