Welcome to Relationship Truth: Unfiltered, where we bring truth with love to the tough topics of emotionally destructive relationships. In today’s special Coaches Takeover episode, Leslie Vernick team coaches Diana Bala and Susan King dive into people-pleasing, insecurity, and the transformative path toward freedom in Christ. We’re fresh off our 5-Day Insecurity Coaching Challenge—and in this conversation, we’re going even deeper. In This Episode: A recap of the 5-Day Insecurity Challenge: Self-doubtShame and guiltPerfectionismThe inner criticPeople-pleasing Highlights from the week: Women developing hope beyond shame and guilt Experiencing Scripture in new, life-giving ways Recognizing the hidden faces of insecurity Key Insight: The Many Masquerades of Insecurity Diana and Susan unpack the ways insecurity often masquerades as something good—but at a cost: ✅ Kindness Saying yes to everything, avoiding conflict Underneath: fear of rejection, desire to be liked Truth: Kindness includes boundaries ✅ Humility Downplaying strengths, deflecting compliments Underneath: fear of being judged, imposter syndrome Truth: Humility is not shrinking ✅ Responsibility Overfunctioning, taking on others’ problems Underneath: need to feel needed Truth: Healthy responsibility knows what is yours and what is not ✅ Peacemaking Avoiding hard conversations, keeping silent Underneath: fear of conflict Truth: Real peacemaking requires courage and truth ✅ Flexibility Always going along, hiding preferences Underneath: belief your needs don’t matter Truth: Flexibility shouldn’t erase you Why Do We People-Please? To avoid conflict, rejection, or feeling like a burden It often begins in childhood: Conditional love or safety Messages like “Be a good girl,” “Don’t upset your father” Approval as currency for worth How Do We Transform? Change your inner narrative: “I must earn love” ➜ “I am already worthy.” Embrace agency, reclaim your God-given identity, and practice compassion for the part of you that learned to survive by pleasing. 🌟 Featured Tool: The Truth & Trade Exercise A simple, powerful way to interrupt people-pleasing patterns: 1️⃣ Pause & Name the Pattern Notice when you’re saying “yes” when you mean “no” Ask: What am I afraid will happen if I don’t please? 2️⃣ Identify the Hidden Belief E.g. “If I disappoint them, they won’t love me.” “Saying no makes me selfish.” 3️⃣ Speak the Truth “My worth is not dependent on someone else’s opinion.” “Boundaries create healthier relationships.” Biblical grounding: “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?” — Galatians 1:10 “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” — Matthew 5:37 4️⃣ Make the Trade “I trade my fear of disappointing others for honoring my limits and values.” Then take the aligned action. Next Steps If you joined our challenge this week—you didn’t just learn about insecurity. You moved through it. But this is just the beginning. If you’re ready to live out what you’re learning, join us in our Moving Beyond People-Pleasing Flexible Coaching Experience. It’s time to move from: Performing ➜ Presence Guilt ➜ Groundedness Pleasing everyone ➜ Becoming your God-given self 👉 www.leslievernick.com/peoplepleasingcourse Groups start this week—plenty of times to join! Final Words “Thank you for letting us be a voice in your ear and a companion in your heart. You are not alone. You don’t have to keep performing for love that’s already yours.” We’re closing out our Coaches Takeover for the summer but will return in the fall! Until next time—be kind to yourself, stay curious, and keep moving forward. Learn More & Join Coaching: www.leslievernick.com/peoplepleasingcourseSubscribe for Updates: www.leslievernick.com