09/25/2026
I was a chronic over-giver in my relationships, even if I wasn’t receiving the same care in return, especially if I wasn’t.
Subconsciously, I was chasing the validation of partners who were never able to see me, who weren’t able to meet me where I was at, or give to me in the same ways.
The irony is that even if they were, at the time I wouldn’t have even been capable of receiving it, because my nervous system didn’t know how.
The pattern that was familiar to me was that I had to over-give of myself, or abandon myself in order to maintain connection. So even though it was painful, it was what I knew, and one I had a lot of practice with.
Eventually, I made a choice that I wasn’t going to accept that way of being, or that way of relating anymore. So I turned towards myself, the one person I’d been avoiding, the one I hadn’t been giving to, and I started giving to her in the way I would pour into others.
When you can be with that level of self-love and care, you create a new standard for yourself. You no longer need that validation from anyone else to know what you’re worthy of and to know who you really are.
Once you know how to give to yourself that way, then you start opening up to what life and love really has to give to you.