You teach people how to treat you. Sometimes you just need to change the curriculum.
When you get up to feed your 14 month old baby for the third time in the night, you’re teaching him that he can wake you up multiple times while you are sleeping and you will feed him.
When you sweep up the dirt on the floor that your daughter brought in with her shoes, you are teaching her not to worry about cleaning up after herself because you will sweep up for her.
When you stay late at work despite the fact that you have other plans, you are teaching your boss that they can take advantage of you and that work takes precedence over your personal life.
These are all ways that you teach people in your life how you are willing to be treated and you reinforce habits that I would bet you don’t want to perpetuate.
Consider the alternatives: you can teach your baby that he doesn’t need to snack throughout the night and that your sleep is valuable too.
You can teach your daughter how to notice and sweep up the mess she made on her own.
You can teach your boss that your personal life is a part of who you are and that you are unable to stay late but that you will come in early the next day to get ahead on the project they need completed.
Consider what message you are conveying with your own actions. What are you permitting yourself to be subjected to? You are teaching people how you want to be treated.
Become a purposeful teacher. It’s time to change the curriculum if you are teaching bad habits.
If you need help changing the way you teach people how to treat you, reach out to me. I can help you strategize and come up with new methods and techniques.