I aim to please...

There is a neverending desire in me to be pleasing. Where that desire comes from...I don't know. I can only say that it's there, and it's been with me for most of my life. It's my concern for hurting someone's feelings without a care for my own feelings. It's my desire to be liked. It's my need to feel like everyone knows that I'm a good person and that they're safe with me.
I've often wondered what it must feel like to be okay with saying "no."  How it must feel to actually say out loud, right as it happens "you've hurt my feelings." I'd say it in a kind way, of course. I wonder what would happen...
My profession of photography allows me to examine the best and worst parts of myself, and I like that. I think it's a good thing, and not just for me. Bill Cosby once said, "the key to failure is trying to please everyone." The thing is...I agree with him. So what does that mean for me. I certainly don't want to be a failure. 
To be honest, I don't have the answer right now. Hey, I'm a work in progress, and I like that too.