loyalty cost you everything

loyalty cost you everything YOUR LOYALTY COST YOU YOUR BEST YEARS. AND THE PEOPLE YOU GAVE IT TO BARELY NOTICED. TO BARELY NOTICED. THAT'S A HARD TRUTH FOR GEN X TO ACCEPT. WE WERE RAISED TO BELIEVE THAT LOYALTY WAS CHARACTER. STAY WITH THE COMPANY, STAND BY YOUR SPOUSE, FORGIVE YOUR FAMILY, KEEP YOUR OLDEST FRIENDS. YOU FINISH WHAT YOU START, EVEN WHEN FINISHING IT DESTROYS YOU. SO WE STAYED. STAYED IN JOBS THAT STOPPED VALUING US YEARS AGO. REMAINED IN RELATIONSHIPS WHERE WE WERE LONELY, DISRESPECTED, AND BETRAYED. COMPLETELY TAKEN FOR GRANTED. CONTINUED RESCUING RELATIVES. AND THEY ONLY CALLED WHEN THEY WANTED MONEY, FORGIVENESS, OR SOMEBODY TO BLAME. AND WE CALLED IT LOYALTY. LOYALTY WITHOUT RESPECT IS SELF ABANDONMENT. YOU GAVE HIM YOUR WEEKENDS, YOUR ENERGY, YOUR HEALTH. AND THE YEARS WHEN YOU STILL BELIEVED THAT EVERYTHING WOULD GET BETTER. YOU STILL BELIEVED THAT EVERYTHING WOULD GET BETTER. KEPT WAITING FOR YOUR DEDICATION TO BE REWARDED. YOU THOUGHT THE COMPANY WOULD REMEMBER YOUR SACRIFICE. YOU BELIEVED YOUR PARTNER WOULD FINALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE THINGS YOU TOLERATED. YOU HOPED YOUR FAMILY WOULD EVENTUALLY LOVE YOU THE WAY THAT YOU KEPT LOVING THEM. SOME PEOPLE NEVER INTENDED TO RETURN THE THINGS YOU GAVE THEM. THEY WEREN'T INSPIRED BY YOUR LOYALTY. THEY BECAME COMFORTABLE EXPLOITING IT. THE LONGER YOU STAYED, THE MORE THEY LEARNED THERE'S NO CONSEQUENCES FOR MISTREATING YOU. AND NOW YOU LOOK BACK. 10, 20, 30 YEARS DISAPPEARED WHILE YOU WERE PROVING YOURSELF TO PEOPLE WHO HAD ALREADY DECIDED THAT YOU Weren't WORTH A THING. CANNOT RECOVER THOSE YEARS, BUT YOU CAN STOP GIVING THEM ANOTHER DAY. WALKING AWAY DOESN'T MAKE YOU DISRESPECTFUL. WALKING AWAY IS THE FIRST LOYAL THING THAT YOU'VE EVER DONE FOR YOURSELF. YOU'RE ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE EMPLOYER WHO WOULD REPLACE YOU IN A SECOND AND THE FRIENDSHIP THAT SURVIVES ONLY BECAUSE YOU DO ALL THE WORK. STOP ANSWERING RELATIVES WHO USE GUILT TO GET TO YOU. YOU CAN CHOOSE YOURSELF WITHOUT HOLDING ANOTHER TRIAL FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HURT YOU. DO NOT WASTE THROUGH YOUR REMAINING YEARS TRYING TO JUSTIFY THE TIME YOU INVESTED DOES NOT REQUIRE YOU TO CONTINUE TO INVEST. THAT'S NOT LOYALTY. IT'S FEAR. Wearing LOYALTY'S CLOTHES. YOUR BEST YEARS THEY'RE NOT DETERMINED BY HOW OLD YOU ARE. THEY'RE THE YEARS WHEN YOU FINALLY BELONG TO YOURSELF. IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING ALONG WITH ME, TYPE I'M IN IN THE COMMENTS. I'M AN ACCOUNTABILITY COACH, AND I HELP PEOPLE START OVER. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THAT, SEND ME AN INBOX AND I'LL SEE YOU ON THE NEXT ONE.