No one is going to respect you until you start respecting yourself. That means you need to stop putting up with disrespectful crap from the people around you — even if they’re your closest friends and family members. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who’s talking down to you, because if they treat you poorly, you should kick them out of your life. Don’t let anyone do these things to you, because you deserve so much more:
- Convince you that you’re ugly. You need to get it through your brain that you’re beautiful. It doesn’t matter what your ex, your older brother, or strangers on the Internet say. You’re as beautiful as they come, and it’s time for you to believe that.
- Walk all over you. Your boss is your superior, but it doesn’t give him the right to talk down to you or force you to do jobs that aren’t assigned to you. Don’t let him, or anyone else, walk all over you. Speak up whenever you need to, so that you receive the treatment that you deserve.
- Use you for sex. Don’t let a hot guy booty call you if you want an actual relationship with him. You’re not a sex object, so don’t let yourself be treated like one. If someone wants to sleep with you, then they should buy you a meal and call you their boyfriend first. It’s the least they could do.
- Make your decisions for you. You’re not a kid anymore. Your parents aren’t in charge of whom you date and what career path you follow. You can’t let anyone else take control of your life, because your decisions are yours alone.
- Peer pressure you. When you love yourself, you won’t care about anyone else’s opinion of you, because you’ll realize that your opinion is the only one that matters. That means you should do what you want instead of doing what you think will make you more likable.
- Blame you. Don’t let your man, or anyone else, blame you for something that wasn’t your fault. If they’re not mature enough to take responsibility for their actions, then you have no business associating with them. They’re clearly too childish for you.
- Abuse you. If your boyfriend raises his hand to you, you should leave before he has the chance to say another word. You shouldn’t put up with any type of physical or emotional abuse, because your body and mind deserve better.
- Force you to do their work. If your boyfriend dirtied up a bunch of dishes, then you aren’t in charge of cleaning them up. Don’t let him force you to do the housework, just because you’re a woman.
- Ditch you. If a friend is always flaking on you, because they’ve found better people to hang out with, then you don’t need them in your life at all. You aren’t a second choice. You’re a priority.
- Talk down to you. Even if you get into a nasty fight with your boyfriend, name calling is unacceptable. There’s no reason for him to belittle you by cursing at you. If he loved you, he wouldn’t insult your character, and if you loved yourself, you won’t put up with that sort of treatment.
