What defines your worth? What behaviors will you accept, and what are the lines that you won’t allow others to cross? How do you identify when you’re not being treated with the respect and dignity you deserve? Understanding your worth and recognizing your value is the foundation of building healthy relationships and maintaining a positive self-image. It can be a challenging journey but recognizing the behaviors you won’t accept is an important step forward.

One-sided Friendships: Friendships, at their core, are about mutual understanding, support, and reciprocation. A friend is someone who is there for you, who supports you, who listens, and who also shares their life with you. However, when a friendship becomes one-sided, it can feel as though you’re continually giving without receiving anything in return.

In these so-called ‘transactionships’, you may find that you’re always the one initiating contact, always the one providing emotional support, or always the one making sacrifices for the other person. Your friend may only reach out when they need something or want to talk about themselves, but are nowhere to be found when you need support. This imbalance can be emotionally draining and isn’t representative of a healthy, respectful friendship.

Toxic Relationships: Relationships should be sources of support, love, and personal growth. Yet, in a toxic relationship, you may find the opposite is true. Toxic people often resort to manipulation, belittlement, and even emotional abuse to maintain control.

For instance, a toxic person might constantly criticize you, even under the guise of “just joking.” They may gaslight you—manipulating you into doubting your own feelings and perceptions. They may be unapologetically selfish, always prioritizing their needs above yours, or they might habitually cross your boundaries, disregarding your comfort and personal space. Such relationships can severely impact your self-esteem and mental health.

Being Ignored or Silenced: Our voices and opinions are fundamental aspects of our identity. When we express ourselves, we want our words to be heard and respected. But, in some situations, you might feel ignored or silenced. This could be someone talking over you in a meeting, disregarding your ideas or perspectives, or consistently brushing off your feelings and experiences as if they don’t matter. These instances of being ignored or silenced can be subtle but they are powerful eroders of self-esteem and are unacceptable.

Being Treated as an Afterthought: Recognizing your worth also means acknowledging that you deserve to be someone’s priority, not just an option or a fallback plan. Being treated as an afterthought might look like someone consistently canceling plans last minute, forgetting important dates, or only reaching out when they have nothing else to do or when they need something. You are valuable and deserve to be treated as such—being someone’s afterthought is not representative of your worth.

Lack of Respect for Boundaries: Boundaries act as our personal guidelines that we set to safeguard our mental, emotional, and physical space. These can be influenced by our values, past experiences, and personal needs. They define how we want to be treated and what we consider acceptable behavior from others.

For instance, suppose you’re part of a social circle that is continually fostering a toxic environment—filled with gossip, disrespect, or constant negativity. You’ve tried addressing this issue, asking for change, and setting boundaries, but the situation remains unchanged. In such cases, recognizing your worth means understanding when it’s time to walk away.

Here’s where the poker analogy comes into play: “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.” Just as in poker, where the decision to hold, fold, or walk away can determine your success, it’s similar with personal relationships. Holding on could mean working to resolve conflicts and mend the relationship. Folding may involve stepping back, taking a break, and reassessing. Walking away means leaving the situation entirely, recognizing that it’s not contributing positively to your well-being.

I’ve experienced this myself, having to distance myself from certain social circles when they continued to foster a toxic environment. The choice wasn’t easy, but I realized that my mental and emotional health had to take precedence.

Even more challenging was the decision to set boundaries and cut ties with my own parents. However, knowing that such drastic measures were necessary for my personal well-being made it easier to step away from the toxic social circles later on.

While it can be painful to walk away from relationships and social groups that have been a significant part of your life, it’s crucial to remember that knowing your worth and valuing your peace of mind sometimes requires these hard decisions. The relationships that truly matter will respect your boundaries and value your presence. The ones that don’t are better left in the past. After all, you’re the player in your own game of life poker, and you decide when it’s time to hold, fold, or walk away.

Emotional Abuse or Manipulation: It’s crucial to understand that our emotions and feelings are valid and they matter. Unfortunately, there are individuals who may try to manipulate our emotions for their personal gain. For example, someone might try to make you feel guilty for their mistakes, or minimize your feelings and experiences, dismissing them as “overreactions”. This kind of emotional manipulation or abuse can be subtle and insidious, but recognizing our worth means refusing to tolerate such behavior. We have the right to our feelings and we deserve to be in relationships that respect and validate our emotional experiences.

Disrespect: Respecting ourselves means demanding respect in all our interactions, whether they are personal, professional, or even virtual. We will not tolerate disrespectful behavior, be it overt or covert. Overt disrespect is direct and easily identifiable, such as derogatory comments, offensive jokes, or outright insults. Covert disrespect, on the other hand, can be more subtle, such as passive-aggressive remarks, dismissive gestures, or undermining our achievements.

I’ve personally experienced such a situation. I was affiliated with and a regular particpant of a YouTube channel that often featured a variety of guests. However, they began to consistently invite a particular individual on panel who was notoriously disrespectful and verbally abusive—an internet troll and bully. Their behavior constituted overt disrespect; they would throw insults and make derogatory comments every time their lips were moving. They added nothing to the enviroment but toxicity.

I voiced my concerns to the channel administrator, more than once, expressing my discomfort with the individual’s conduct. Yet, despite my and many others’ complaints, they chose to continually feature this person. This was when I recognized covert disrespect in the form of dismissive gestures. My concerns were not given the consideration they deserved, and the toxic behavior was indirectly enabled.

Understanding my worth, I knew my only choice was to distance myself from this channel and those like it. It was a difficult decision, as I had enjoyed their content prior to this issue. However, I knew that by continuing to engage, I would be subjecting myself to an environment that not only disrespected me as a active participant but also clashed with my values of promoting positivity and respect.

Just as in real-life social circles, virtual spaces like YouTube channels and online communities should also be areas of mutual respect and understanding. If they fail to uphold this, walking away can be the most self-respecting action. Knowing our worth means recognizing these forms of disrespect, both overt and covert, and refusing to accept them in all aspects of our lives.

Living in Fear: It is essential to create an environment in our lives where we feel safe, where freedom of expression is valued, where mistakes are viewed as opportunities for growth, and where fear does not dictate our decisions or actions. However, fear can sometimes penetrate our lives in subtle and insidious ways, gradually permeating our consciousness until it becomes an influential factor in our decision-making process. This fear often comes from the relationships we maintain or the situations we find ourselves in, but it can also stem from the information we consume.

In today’s world, we are continually exposed to a myriad of information from a variety of sources—news channels, social media platforms, and even casual conversations with acquaintances. While staying informed is important, it becomes a concern when the content we consume starts inducing consistent fear or anxiety. News channels often broadcast distressing and alarming events, while conspiracy theories circulated on social media can contribute to an atmosphere of paranoia and distrust. Over time, being consistently exposed to this type of content—commonly referred to as “fear porn”—can foster a toxic environment of fear and anxiety, subtly influencing our thought processes, behaviors, and even our perceptions of the world and people around us.

Recognizing my worth and the significance of maintaining a positive mental and emotional space, I found myself needing to reassess the type of content I was consuming. It came to a point where I had to actively reduce my intake of news and actively avoid conspiracy theories, recognizing that these were contributing to an atmosphere of fear and negativity. It was not about burying my head in the sand or becoming oblivious to the realities of the world; instead, it was about selectively choosing to engage with content that encouraged a healthier mental and emotional state.

The decision to reduce my exposure to fear-based content was one born out of self-respect and a clear understanding of my worth. It underlined my right to feel secure, calm, and in control, rather than living in a constant state of anxiety induced by external influences.

Understanding our worth also means taking control of our environments, both physical and digital, to ensure they are conducive to our growth and well-being. We deserve to have spaces—whether they are relationships, workplaces, or even our media consumption habits—that respect our emotional health and nurture our personal growth. We deserve to feel secure, accepted, and loved, and this extends to all aspects of our lives. Therefore, recognizing and rejecting fear-based environments, whether they are formed by the people around us or the content we consume, is an essential part of affirming our self-worth.

Settling for Less: Every individual has dreams, ambitions, and expectations. We know what we’re capable of and refusing to settle for less is a sign of understanding our worth. For instance, you might be in a job that you feel isn’t challenging you or providing opportunities for growth. Or you might be in a relationship that doesn’t fulfill you emotionally. Settling for less than what we deserve can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and regret. Recognizing our worth means going after what truly satisfies us and aligns with our personal and professional goals.

Neglecting Self-Care: Self-care is about taking care of our physical, mental, and emotional health. In today’s fast-paced world, it can be easy to deprioritize self-care in favor of work, family, or other commitments. However, neglecting self-care can lead to burnout and negatively impact our overall well-being. For instance, you might find yourself consistently working late hours, skipping meals, or neglecting your hobbies and relaxation time. Knowing our worth means understanding the importance of self-care and making sure we prioritize our health and happiness. We deserve to take care of ourselves and should never allow other commitments to consistently overshadow this crucial aspect of our lives.

Understanding our self-worth is paramount in shaping our lives and the decisions we make. It’s an integral factor that dictates how we allow others to treat us, the relationships we form, and the environments we choose to engage with. Closing a door, be it on a relationship, an environment, or a situation that no longer serves us, is a powerful act of self-preservation. It can be challenging and painful, but it’s often a necessary step towards better things. This act of closure is not merely about ending something—it’s also about creating space for new opportunities to manifest.

When one door closes, another one opens. The act of disengaging from that which no longer serves us makes room for opportunities that align more closely with our self-worth. These might take the form of healthier relationships, more fulfilling environments, or experiences that nurture and respect our sense of self.

In essence, understanding our worth and acting accordingly is not about focusing on the negatives, but rather about opening ourselves up to the positives that lie ahead. It’s about making room for respect, care, and love, and creating space for relationships and environments that validate our worth and contribute to our growth. It’s about prioritizing ourselves and making choices that reflect our worth. In the grand scheme of things, it’s about recognizing that we deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and choosing not to settle for anything less.