How much are you worth?

When your behaviour is driven by how others treat you, the good times become dull, and the bad times become dreary.

It might seem endearing to focus on how others treat you so that you can return the favour if they’re being sweet or kind, but that means that you are not being true to yourself in that moment.

Your response to someone should be based on how you feel about what is going on in that moment with them, and not a pacified version of you to avoid conflict or to not let them feel bad.

The reason this is important is because if you hold back for long enough, you slowly build up resentment about not being able to be yourself, while the other person has no idea that you’re holding back all the time.

That results in two entirely avoidable issues.

Firstly, they have very good reason to doubt your sincerity when they discover that you’ve been less than sincere all this time.

Secondly, neither will you nor they know the real you behind that show of pleasantries.

That’s just one more way to suck the joy out of life while waiting to find happiness.

Being true to yourself must be your first priority in any relationship. That’s what adds to the substance of it all.

But being true to yourself doesn’t mean being inconsiderate or abrasive, or being self-centred or offensive.

It means speaking your truth and expressing yourself with passion and sincerity without diminishing the other person in the process.

It’s about giving them an opportunity to experience the real you, the way that you want to be experienced, and not the way that you think they deserve to experience you.

It always starts with you.

#hope #expectation #sincerity #selfworth #selfawareness #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #lifecoaching #zaidismail #parenting #relationshipgoals #divorce #theegosystem #ownyourlife