“I do a lot so my (husband, parent, child) will be proud of me.”
Are you trying to live up to their expectations or your own expectations for yourself? They might expect you to achieve a certain status, to fulfill their expectation of you achieving what they weren’t able to achieve, to be what they want you to be.
Is being proud of you worth giving up your own goals? Or giving up your physical or mental health?
Stop and Listen to Yourself
You can break out of the box these expectations have put you in. First, realize that they probably will be proud of what you do even if it is not what they expected. Notice what you are proud of, independent of what others think about you. Then let them know what you are doing that you are proud of.
In Escaping Expectations, I was often alone in nature. During those times, “I hoped to reconnect with the parts of myself I had somehow lost touch with during my relentless drive to meet others’ expectations of me while in California.” You can stop and spend a quiet moment in nature listening to what you really want and who you really are.
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