Being Valued

Hey! Hope you are having a good day, I know I am...The sun is out, I have ten toes and ten fingers, my family is alive and well, couldn't be more blessed.

Today I wanted to talk about being valued.
When someone values you it usually means that they appreciate everything you do for them and reciprocate it. But what happens when you aren't being valued? When someone is giving you less than what you deserve?
I struggled with this for a while, mainly because I wasn't sure of how to know the difference between knowing what you deserved and feeling like you deserved more. What?
I know it sounds crazy but hear me out. There is a difference between knowing what you deserve and thinking you deserve more in a conceited narcissistic way. I have standards, most people would say they are very high. I tell those people that I know what I deserve, and usually their response is that I am on a high horse thinking I deserve the best. If you have gone through this, I am sure you at some point have struggled with this idea too.
If I know what I deserve and my standards are high, then I am being to conceited.
If I know what  I deserve but lower my standards then I am not conceited but I am NOT happy.
There came a point where I started to listen to other people and decided that maybe my standards were to high and I started to accept things that weren't up to my standards but also weren't bad.
I realized that I wasn't happy and I couldn't continue like that. So I went back to knowing what I deserved and not taking anything less.
Which brings me to today, recently I have been going through some things and I realized that I have been accepting less than what I deserve from someone. I knew it was happening but I kept making excuses for why I was getting what I was getting, either the time wasn't right, or the person was going through a rough patch etc. It got to the point where I realized that I cannot continue to accept less than what I deserve. Does this make me conceited? No, I don't think so. Does this mean this person is giving me bullshit and treating me like crap? No definitely not, but it also doesn't mean that they are giving me what I deserve.
I know I deserve better. I know I am worth it. I know that the only reason that this person is giving me less than what I deserve, is because I am letting them. I know I am not happy with what  I am getting, I feel like I am not being valued. The only way to change it, is to walk away.
So I leave you with this quote from Oprah's magazine-May 2014.
"Nothing is more damaging than knowing you are disposable. When you give your all to someone or something but can see plain as day how little it matters to whoever is on the receiving end, it's time to go."

I know I give my all, but I also know when someone undervalues it. Reading that quote today inspired me to write this post. I hope this helps anyone who is going through what I went through, or maybe just reaffirm that you deserve more. Don't settle. And best wishes to you all.

Thank you for reading,
Karina