Kelly Clarkson knows her tendency to be a people pleaser sometimes gets her into trouble.
"I'm a pleaser by nature," Clarkson revealed to Hoda Kotb during the TODAY host's new "Quoted By ...with Hoda" series, in which celebrities share their favorite words of wisdom, comfort and inspiration.
Ever since she was a little girl, said the Grammy winner, she's strived to make everyone around her happy.
"I never want anyone to feel left out. It's like the worst, last picked for the team, all that kind of stuff. I don't ever want that," she shared.
However, the "Piece By Piece" singer is the first to admit her people-pleasing tendency once caused her to spend energy on those who didn't deserve it. In fact, years ago, Clarkson's friend Calamity McEntire — niece of country superstar Reba McEntire — gave her a piece of advice she still cherishes to this day.
"Pick the weeds but keep the flowers," McEntire told her.
"You gotta pull people in that are going to make you a better person," Clarkson explained. "And, you've got to clear out the ones who are super negative."
The simple gardening metaphor instantly clicked with the singer, who recognized some folks in her life were "not on similar paths" with her.
So blown away was she by her friend's "poignant" words, Clarkson incorporated them in her 2007 hit "Sober." She also started seeing less of certain people, which wasn't easy.
"I'm super loyal to a fault," she explained.
Still, focusing on the "uplifting and positive" people in her life — and not trying to please everyone else — has helped Clarkson become a happier, more balanced person.
"The older we get, I feel like the wiser we get," she said.
Watch Clarkson tell her story in the video above.