Living For an Audience of One

Is making others happy making you miserable?

Maybe you feel guilty when you say no to a friend, a family member, or your spouse. Maybe you’ve earned a reputation as someone who gets things done, so people keep asking you for help. And you agree to help. Even though your schedule is already full.

Author and speaker Karen Ehman knows just how you feel. She has struggled with people pleasing for years. One time, an old friend called to ask if her college-aged son could stay with her family a couple nights a week during his summer internship. Karen said yes even though her schedule was already stretched thin because of her dad’s recent death and responsibilities associated with her husband’s aging parents, as well as welcoming a new daughter-in-law to the family.

How do you live with healthy boundaries that empower you to say yes and no with purpose?

We’re talking about that on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Living for an Audience of One.” Karen Ehman is with us to help wives and moms learn how to overcome patterns of people-pleasing and to serve God more intentionally.

She’ll share how to:

Align your habits with your priorities: When Karen examined how she spent each day, she discovered that her habits did not match up with her priorities.
Make specific rules to protect your time: Karen spends a half-hour each night responding to non-urgent calls and messages. Anything she can’t finish in that timeframe rolls over to the following night.

Announce instead of apologizing: Instead of saying, “I’m sorry I’m just now returning your call,” say, “I just listened to your voicemail from this morning.”
Don’t feel guilty for sticking to your boundaries: Jesus didn’t spend every waking minute caring for others. He had a clear focus and knew his mission.

In Galatians 1:10, Paul writes, “Am I now seeking the favor of people, or of God?” That’s a good question to ask ourselves.

Hear my full conversation with Karen on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, via Google Podcasts, or take us with you on our free phone app.

Karen Ehman is a speaker for Proverbs 31 Ministries and a New York Times bestselling author. Her book When Making Others Happy Is Making You Miserable: How to Break the Pattern of People Pleasing and Confidently Live Your Life is available for a gift of any amount. I’ll send you a copy as my way of saying thank you for your partnership. (Check here for details.)