As I get older, I realize how important it is to protect your peace.
When we are young, we are taught to say sorry, accept apologies, and keep moving. We are not taught to stop accepting those apologies once they start piling up. As a result, when we get older, we get caught up in the revolving door of someone hurting us, saying sorry, accepting their apology, and letting them go back to what they were doing before.
At what point do we stop accepting those apologies?
I think it's interesting that a lot of people wait to reach their breaking point before addressing something. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't even want to know what my breaking point feels like.
Therefore, I have conditioned myself to where if something is bothering me, I address it or handle it personally on my end. It may have a lot to do with my personality and how I was raised, but I have no problem cutting someone or something off for the betterment of myself. At the end of the day, you have to do what's best for you.
This is not to say that you should cut off every single person who has ever hurt your feelings - that's a bit dramatic. Rather, simply think about how much you value that person and consider whether or not they value you as much. All relationships between human beings are naturally mutualistic.
If you find that you are not getting at least a "how are you" from someone every now and again but they are constantly requiring something of you, drop them.
Now here comes the hard part: addressing the situation and standing firm in your decision. Every scenario is different. Maybe you'll have known each other for five years and they're your best friend. Maybe it's a family member. Maybe the person is putting themselves in harm's way, thus affecting you and others around them. Either way, that person will never take you seriously if you continue to enable them.
Whatever action you take, you must stand firm in it.
Majority of the time, you feel 10 times better once you have at least addressed the situation.
Stop letting people who don't even deserve half of you take advantage of all of you. Stop accepting some of those weak apologies. Stop giving undeserving people multiple chances to ruin your life.
Also, don't just think about this in terms of significant others. This should apply to all relationships in your life, whether it's work, friends, or family.
