It’s cliché to say that you can’t please everyone. But this is precisely the sort of sanity-restoring wisdom that we all understand to be true, and we all routinely forget. So here’s a little gem that has been helping me remember … and causing me to quietly chuckle to myself whenever I think of it:
You are not the jackass whisperer.
This wisdom comes to us from author Scott Stratten, who was quoted in Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly, as saying, “Don’t try to win over the haters; you’re not the jackass whisperer.”
Let’s unpack that for a minute.
This is a play on the term “horse whisperer,” which refers to someone who has developed a special talent for communicating with horses. Horse whisperers are exceedingly rare, if such people even exist, and surely, the same goes for “jackass whisperers.” Odds are, you aren’t one. You probably don’t possess the charisma and persuasive skills needed to turn jerks into friends, turn haters into fans, or convince stubborn people to change their minds.
Some people are going to disapprove of your work, be unimpressed by it, or belittle your efforts. Some people are simply not going to like you. And you’ll still worry about what they think. And you’ll still try to change their minds. And you’ll fail because you are not the jackass whisperer.