❼ The Baffling Side Effect of Trying to be a Good Person

It always seems like a good idea to be a better person – until you actually try.

I assumed that doing this love challenge would make me a better person.

However, I never anticipated any side effects — let alone this particular one.

We’ll call it the:

“Do they think I’m a good person?” syndrome

In a nutshell, there are certain people whose opinions I actually respect.

When these people discover that I’m doing a love challenge, I always have the same thought(s):

“Do they think I’m a good person?”

“I wonder if they think I’m a good person”.

I find these thoughts to be problematic because:

1. It doesn’t necessarily make me feel good if people think i’m a good person.
2. It also doesn’t necessarily make me feel bad if people think that I’m a bad person.

So why do I keep wondering if people think I’m a good person when they hear about this love challenge?

I’m not entirely sure…but I hope to find out.

Your Turn

• Do you care what people think of you? How come?
• What would you tell a person struggling with self-acceptance?
• What’s a loving thing somebody has done for you recently?