It's been a pretty stressful week in our home. My husband, who started a new job about a year ago, is under a tremendous amount of pressure at work--trying to please his boss. Now, my husband would be classified as a people-pleaser and very, very easy to please. I'm being serious when I tell you that all he asked for when he turned 48 this past January was a bag of pretzels and some Cokes (and that's what he got).

So, it's not a stretch to imagine him trying to please his boss--and his new company. But, for all his charm and talent, he's not sure it's working. And, the pressure is mounting.

It got me thinking about being easy-to-please vs. hard-to-please, and the yin and yang of it all. I will confess that I am probably hard-to-please, and I always wonder if those around me will spend countless hours trying to please me, only to discover it's nearly impossible.

But, then, I thought about the alternative--what if we all lived in a world where everyone were easy-to-please? Where's the fun in that?

When I mediate or facilitate therapy, I'm always on alert for that dynamic. Does the couple consist of one easy-to-pleaser and one hard-to-pleaser? The answer is almost always, "yes."

In mediation, that dynamic can be a stumbling block--but, in life, can it actually be helpful?

Britt