It’s evident in today’s world we think we understand what we deserve. We think we know whose worth settling for and who isn’t. We fall in and out of love with people who we thought were worth the slight risk, only to find out it was just someone else who didn’t deserve all we have to offer. We join dating sites hoping to find our “significant other” only to be continuously disappointed with the dating pool these sites have to offer.

It is rather simple to settle for less than we deserve, especially when we don’t realize that we are doing it. We think we know what we want and deserve, and settle for anything remotely close to that. We try to make things work with what we have because we have this picture of what it “should” look like. But why should we continue settling for people and relationships who bring us more harm than good? Why do we continue looking past these “flaws” and making excuses for someone else and running around the truth? How we see ourselves, is observed in our relationships, both romantically and not.

It’s time we stop pushing past people’s flaws and settling for what we think we deserve. Stop lowering the bar and stop settling for people who don’t deserve the love, time and happiness you have to offer. Wanting to love and be loved is a natural instinct of any human, but that is no excuse to settle for what we believe is best for us. We love to have our love validated, and to believe we are truly special in someone else’s eyes, it’s only natural. But sometimes, as human beings, we crave that validation so much in it’s entirety, were willing to settle obtaining it from anyone. We begin creating false images of love and how love is supposed to be, and realize we got it all wrong. Dating and love should not have to be a chore, and should certainly not be an excuse for being treated poorly. It’s time we realize what we do deserve instead of what we think we deserve, and start settling there.

You are worth way more than the guy who calls you at 2 a.m. to “just chill.” You are worth more than the guy who strings you along until he finds something better with someone else. You are worth more than the guy who buys you drinks at the bar, thinking he can just take you home after. You are worth more than the guy who only saw you as a one night stand, when you wanted so much more. You are worth more than the cat calls and whistles you hear walking down the road. You are worth more than being undermined by people who say you aren’t good enough and never will be.

It’s time we take a step back and really determining what it is we do deserve. You deserve someone who wants to take you out to dinner, and treats you with respect. You deserve to be with someone who wants nothing more than to be with you. You deserve someone who sees you as more than just another girl at the bar looking for someone to buy her drinks. You deserve someone who appreciates you in your entirety. You deserve someone who tells you that you how wonderful you are, every single day. You deserve to be reminded you will always be good enough. You deserve someone who has ambitions and goals. You deserve someone who is hard working, and pushes you to achieve your own goals. You deserve the best. And when the right person comes along, they will absolutely deserve you. You are worth more than you think you are. Stop settling for what you think you deserve, and instead, settle for what you do deserve.