What was I thinking?

After settling and lowering yourself to be in a relationship with someone who cannot and will not live up to your expectations we often look back and think "What was I thinking?" good thing is you live and you hopefully learn. The initial pain eventually goes away and when it does you realize how stupid you were, and you truly see your ex for who they really are. Hence, the saying love is blind. Just because our love, feelings, and intentions are genuine doesn't guarantee the person you are with shares the same intentions or moral values. It is a losing battle trying to change someone. If the person is ok with how they are behaving enough to disregard you in the first place then they are unworthy of your returned respect in that same exact regard. The first thing you might think is eye for an eye, teach 'em a lesson, but retaliation is just manipulating them to stay while lowering yourself to their level, and most likely only prolonging your agony. When someone cannot find it within themselves to respect you, you have to take it at face value and walk away if the situation deems fit. No matter the words they say. Don't make yourself a doormat you have the right to be selective and put the wrong people back on the curb. Don't beat yourself up and dwell on the hurt, learn from it and choose better companions by figuring them out before you emotionally invest yourself. Quit settling for less and hurting for what you didn't deserve.