psychology
These 5 behaviors make it easy to unconsciously take advantage of you
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Do you feel like you’re being taken advantage of often? You may unconsciously promote this through some behaviors. We reveal what these could be.
It feels like you are helping – but if you do this all the time and put your own needs aside, it quickly happens that others like to take advantage of you. Especially when the following behaviors apply to you.
5 behaviors that make you unconsciously easy to take advantage of
You keep saying “yes”
Many people find it difficult to say “no”. Be it handing over a task at work or turning down a request in a friendship. Are you one of them? Unfortunately, people who always say “yes” are more likely to be taken advantage of. Those around you know that it is difficult for them to reject something and they take advantage of this. What helps: Always remind yourself of your own needs, wishes and to-dos before you say “yes” to more – because you should come first.
You don’t listen to your gut feeling
Most of the time, our gut feeling helps us quite well when it comes to making decisions. Whether we should do something or not, whether we are comfortable with someone or not. If we ignore it, we also miss possible warning signals, that bad gut feeling that often manifests itself in discomfort, stomach pain or nausea. Our gut feeling just wants to protect us – and we should gratefully allow that.
You hardly set any limits
If you don’t want something, be it physical or verbal, you should say so. It doesn’t have to be about you directly – you can also be drawn into unpleasant situations, for example if a colleague in front of you constantly gossips about another colleague. Even if you don’t say anything about it, it can seem to your colleague that you agree with her. In any case, she notices that you don’t defend yourself or stand up – for yourself or someone else – which increases the likelihood that she will see you as “easy to convince” and a “follower”. Instead, set boundaries and say what you like and what you don’t or what you will tolerate and what you won’t.
You hate confrontations
Are you a person who needs a lot of harmony and try to avoid confrontations and arguments as much as possible? Unfortunately, this also means that you can be more easily taken advantage of by others. Because those around you know that instead of standing up for yourself, you would rather try to make sure that things are smoothed out – and sometimes put your needs aside.
You don’t live in the present
“What if?” “If only I had…” If you think a lot about the past or future, you are less present in the present moment. This makes you more susceptible to being distracted and also taken advantage of. A conscious awareness of today’s situation helps you to concentrate on what is important now and what you want to work on right now.
Across these five behaviors, the crucial point becomes clear: In order not to allow yourself to be taken advantage of, the most important thing is to listen to yourself and represent your point of view to the outside world. And you should always remember that it’s okay, even necessary, to put yourself first.
Sources used: hackspirit.com