“Everybody’s friend is nobody’s” – Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German Philosopher
We have heard it again and again, but there will always be a part of most people that wants everyone to like them, or at least not dislike them.
When raising my daughters I tried to strike a balance between teaching them not to worry about having everyone like them and having them try to be kind and fair and open to everyone they met. The result I hoped would be that indeed most people would like them, but their behavior would be a result of wanting to do what is right and kind not out of some desperation to be liked.
Of course children learn more from what you do that from what you say so they watched their mother and I and saw two people who struggled with finding this same balance. All I could hope is they saw us making progress in our efforts, not that they saw us being able to achieve the balance perfectly at all times.
Drawing and commentary © 2022 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com