I have talked quite a bit about humility. Humility is kind of like the mayonnaise in the tuna salad. It holds things together. It keeps things from falling apart. When we show a willingness to do things someone else's way, we can continue to move toward accomplishing whatever we are attempting to accomplish. Being agreeable is a very likable and oftentimes needed character trait.
However, as the design for living and surviving on this earth has been laid out, there are exceptions to every sort of system that humankind is able to figure out, and so it is with humility. We cannot take the lower seat every time. We are called upon to stay alert in our relationships. Pat responses rarely work. We are to see each event as unique. This has come to me recently because an online friend became blatantly disrespectful, and I realized that she had been taking advantage of me, and that she was not a sincere person. And now I blocked her, and I sincerely hope she doesn't bother me anymore.
So, successful relationships need us to be humble and cooperative, but not at the expense of our self-respect. As much as we are able, we need to gently and discretely let people know that we are not to be taken advantage of. And I know that sometimes people are stuck in situations where they have no control of how they are treated. But self-respect is something that happens within us, so we can always control that.
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