People – How to Gain Respect, See it Differently & Get What You Deserve

I don’t know about you, but people really make me angry. The first thought that you have may be that I just know some negative people.

This is true. A lot of the people that I see weekly aren’t the kind of people that emit positive energy, creativity and dream chasing activism – which is what would be good for someone like me. But I’m going to rant about them anyway because for the time being, they’re the people I know.



Some people I know may read this and think, “I hope she’s not talking about me!” I’m probably not, because anyone nice enough to read my work is a lovely, positive person who’s obviously supporting me.

But you’ve got to agree. People these days just make you mad all too often. How they take up the entire lane in the supermarket. How they cough onto their money before handing it to you. How they drive right up behind you with their headlights blaring. Arseholes! You know what it all balls down to? A lack of respect. People don’t respect their fellow man. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, respect isn’t necessarily earned. Like when you first meet someone, you shouldn’t treat them as if they’re below you until they’ve earned your respect. That doesn’t make any sense! A general, fair amount of respect should be given in the first place, and then given more or taken away after the person gives reason for it. Make sense? Respect is mutual. Respect is natural. Everyone deserves it until they don’t.

But people don’t do that! Instead they treat others as if they’re nothing. As if they don’t have a family, a job and a life like we do. It’s outrageous and it really makes me mad. What’s worse, is when you do know them. When someone is your colleague or someone you’ve known for ages, and yet they treat you as if you’re below them. When did I give you reason to do that? And why the F*ck do you think it’s OK?

But the thing is, it’s our own fault, right? Yeah we can say that people are awful all we like, but if there’s more than one person who makes us feel crap about ourselves, we obviously caused that to happen. We didn’t nip something in the bud once it began. Someone said a comment and we let it go, thus allowing those kind of comments to continue. They learned to treat you that way…

Certain people, of course, never would treat you that way in the first place. If someone is rude to you, makes you feel less-than, or just puts a downer on your day, then they’re a bit poisonous. Lately, I’m seeing a lot of poison. Do I suck the poison out? Run from it? Or ignore it, until it kills my spirit?

We suck it out, of course. We show people how they make us feel. We tell them that this and that isn’t right or fair. Put them in their place with confident assertiveness, not anger or revenge. Otherwise, it isn’t going to get you the respect that you deserve. If this doesn’t work, then cut that person out of your life, or at least distance yourself. You can’t grow if you’re constantly cut down or your roots are poisoned.

We need good energy and positive people in our lives. Life is only good if there are people to share it with. Those people, however, can’t be poisonous. It’s just not worth it. Your life won’t prosper. It will forever be a beating, a dark cloud and emptiness.

We all need people, and so I urge you all to only allow the greatest of people into your life. You need it, and they need you to be great to them, too. Respect others, and above all else, respect yourself.

~ Damsel