How Are You Teaching People to Treat You?

I had an experience recently that really stuck with me.

For context, I’m very intentional about the people I surround myself with. I choose to be around people who want more from life. People who are growing, evolving, thinking bigger. People who are willing to look inward, take responsibility, and do the work.

That doesn’t always come easily, especially in the line of work I’m in. A lot of people want change, but not everyone is ready for the mindset that growth requires.

Recently, I was sitting at a table with a group of people I was working with. At some point, the conversation shifted into gossip. The topic became a group of strangers on a reality TV show, and suddenly the energy in the room changed. The conversation turned judgmental, critical, and honestly… small.

What struck me most wasn’t the topic itself, but how normal it felt to everyone else.

Here were a group of people who talk about wanting success, growth, and better lives, yet in that moment, they were choosing to spend their time tearing down people they didn’t even know.

After sitting quietly for a bit, I finally spoke up.

I said something like, “Hey, this conversation isn’t really serving anyone. It feels negative, and I’d rather talk about something that actually moves us forward. If you all want to keep going, that’s okay, I can step away.”

There was an awkward pause. Then something interesting happened.

The energy shifted.

People nodded. Someone apologized. The conversation changed. And the rest of the night turned into something genuinely meaningful.

Later, two people pulled me aside separately and thanked me. They told me they appreciated that I spoke up, that it made them think, and that the conversation afterward felt more aligned with who they wanted to be.

That moment stuck with me.

Because it reminded me of something important:

How people treat you is often a reflection of what you allow.

And how you show up teaches others what you will accept.

So I’ll ask you what I asked myself that night:

How committed are you to the life you say you want?
How committed are you to your growth, your peace, your values?
Are you willing to be a little uncomfortable in order to protect your standards?

Because choosing growth often means choosing discomfort. It means speaking up. It means walking away from conversations, habits, and environments that don’t align with the person you’re becoming.

And the truth is, the more you do that, the more people rise to meet you there.

Or they fall away.

Either way, you move forward.

And that’s the point.