You can't please them all, but you can love them alltranslated

A phrase almost like a motto often goes around: "You can't keep them all happy." Such sentences sound self-evidently correct and the intention when they are said is usually good, since they want to remind the person that it is not possible to live captive to the demands, expectations and approval of others. And indeed, there is truth in this.

By Petros D. Damianos (Dr. of Philosophy – NTUA Teaching Staff)

When our value depends on whether everyone is satisfied with us, then life becomes a non-stop negotiation. We learn to say "yes" where we should say "no", to be silent where we should speak, and to betray our conscience so as not to displease anyone.

So far, the finding is reasonable.

But there is a subtle danger.

Very easily this phrase turns from an invitation to freedom into a form of self-justification. From "I can't please everyone" we move almost imperceptibly to "others make unreasonable demands", "others project their insecurities onto me", "others are to blame for not being happy".

So while this sentence rightly calls us not to…