To Appease Others, or To Appease Oneself

Many people are willing to just agree to others' demands in hopes of settling a dispute, or in other words, they are willing to appease other people. But this often offers only a temporary means of settlement, and eventually the conflict will resurface and be much more impactful. This was seen in World War II when countries essentially helped Hitler rise to power by fulfilling all of his demands, but it also can be seen in one' daily life. Many students try to do well in school in hopes of appeasing their parents who are pushing them to do well. This just leads to the student and their parents being mad at each other, since the student begins to feel the stress of having to constantly do well and eventually snaps at their parents, leading to a much bigger punishment than getting a bad grade on a test would have gotten them. I have heard countless students complain of the stress put on them when they try to fulfill their parents' wishes. My parents too want me to get good grades, but the reason I try hard is not to appease them, but to appease myself. I want to be a doctor and to do that, I know that I need to study hard. I set goals for myself and when I achieve them, I feel much happier and more proud of what I have done especially since there is no outside pressure or expectations.

Of course, we can't always just appease ourselves. Imagine how out of control the world would be if everyone only thought about themselves. This is where compromise comes in. In a compromise, there is a give and take on both sides. For example, instead of getting good grades just to appease my parents and not get in trouble, I get good grades because as long as my grades as are good, my parents don't set any limitations on how long I can watch tv or whether I can go out on the weekends or not. This way no one feels forced into doing something by the other person; both sides are getting, at least to some extent, what they want. No one wants to do something and get nothing out of it; a compromise solves this problem.