Oprah Winfrey says people-pleasing led her to make a career decision she knew was wrong

Oprah Winfrey said 2012 was "one of the worst years" of her life. Vivien Killilea/Getty Images Oprah Winfrey says she let people-pleasing get in the way of a big career decision. She ignored her intuition because she was afraid of what others would think. The fallout made 2012 "one of the worst years" of her life, she said. Oprah Winfrey , 72, said she made a career decision she knew was wrong, simply because she didn't want to disappoint others. Speaking on Thursday's episode of " The Mel Robbins Podcast ," Winfrey reflected on the difficult early years of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network . Winfrey launched OWN in January 2011, months before "The Oprah Winfrey Show" ended its 25-year run in May that year. The network struggled with low ratings and later made highly publicized layoffs , including 30 staff cuts in March 2012.