🔑 In our quest for connection 🔗, we often hand others the keys to our self-esteem, and more importantly, our self-worth 💖. We defer to their opinions, preferences, and desires 👀➡️👤.
❗But ❕what if that deference leads to us becoming so vulnerable that our internal satisfaction for a life worth living 🌱 becomes intertwined with the assessment that others allot us 🤔? What if those “others” do not respect our opinions, preferences, or desires? Worse yet, what if they don’t even respect our needs? 😢
🛑 When we prioritize the perceptions of others over our own feelings over and over again, we give away our power 💔 - more of it every single time, making us susceptible to emotional turmoil 🌀if their feedback ever turns negative🌪️.
➖Have you ever shared something with someone when you felt you could, only to have them turn around and use it against you when something didn’t go their way?
➖Or, have you ever made a mindless mistake, and had it exaggerated and hung over your head by someone you thought was “on your side”?
…that’s what I mean. 😔
✨ The key to avoiding this lies in balancing our innate desire for acceptance 🤝and connection 🔗 with a strong sense of self-worth that is independent of anyone and anything. However, without discretion, even that may not be enough.