Of Making Friends and Influencing People: The "You're Doing It Wrong" Edition

For many years I had an overactive guilt complex. Simple statement, anything but simple issue. I didn't have boundaries. Or, more accurately, I had poorly placed boundaries. I didn't have a problem standing up for myself against people who had proven themselves to be cruel, callous, or unkind; I had a problem standing up to everyone else.

I let friends, family, and even casual acquaintances walk all over me. I didn't consider myself a doormat because I could stand up for myself, I just didn't...