The need to please others (people-pleasing) is a mistake that, rather than making you a good person, deprives you of your integrity and personal control by making your actions dependent on the fear of disagreement.

noli's read

This advice is based on well-documented concepts in behavioral and cognitive psychology. Research suggests that an excessive dependence on the approval of others is often linked to underlying social anxiety and difficulty asserting personal boundaries (observational and clinical studies, American Psychological Association). It is accurate that prioritizing the needs of others at the expense of one's own can lead to emotional distress, often described as emotional exhaustion or resentment (studies on stress and emotional regulation). The claim that this diminishes one's sense of personal control is corroborated by the theory of locus of control: basing decisions on external factors rather than one's own internal values effectively weakens the sense of self-efficacy. The argument is not exaggerated because it does not advocate for selfishness, but rather highlights a functional imbalance. There is no evidence that this makes a person "bad," but the link to the loss of personal integrity is a solid consensus in positive psychology.

the sources

No named source held this one up — that absence is part of the verdict.