I remember, a long time ago, frying eggs for my ex. I was convinced I had given him the biggest, best-looking one.

But when I saw him glance — disappointed — at his egg and then at mine, and heard him say,
“Why did you give yourself the biggest egg?”
I was stunned.

I thought:
When do I actually get it right for someone else?

Of course, that question doesn’t just apply to eggs. It applies to everything.

I’ve noticed that:

When I think I’m being kind, the cute guy thinks I’m pushy.
When one person says I look great after losing 18 kilos, another says I’m too thin.
When one person thinks I should be a stay-at-home mother, someone else admires the fact that I have a “career.”

That’s probably why Albert Heijn sells 26 different kinds of ice cream.
And fries. Because some people don’t like ice cream.
And it goes on and on — into infinity (and beyond).

So… when do you actually get it right?

After many hours of thinking, I’ve come to this conclusion:

You can only truly get it right for one person.
And that is yourself.

But that’s not what I was taught.

Like many people — maybe you too — I was taught to be nice, sweet, respectful, accommodating, and above all, not difficult.

That brought me many beautiful things.
And also: a lot of stress. Stomach aches. Two burnouts.

So nowadays — and no, it’s not always easy — I put more emphasis on getting it right for myself.

Why?

Because no matter what you do,
there will always be someone who thinks they got the smallest egg.