In this episode, Jaya brings forward a challenge that many of us can relate to - leaving conversations feeling undermined or devalued.  She struggles with how to maintain her power and self-worth when people dismiss, invalidate, or fail to recognize her contributions.  Her core questions include:

1. How do I keep my power when dealing with people who undermine or devalue me?
2. What language can I use to defend myself?
3. How do I navigate situations where I freeze in response to subtle invalidation?
4. Why do some people always take a contrarian point of view, and how can I respond?
5. How do I handle accusations of being selfish when I set boundaries or withdraw?

Key Takeaways for Listeners

• Shift Your Perspective - Stop seeing these moments as something being done to you and instead as data about the other person's patterns and needs.
• Break the Victim Cycle - Seeing yourself as prey in a predator-prey dynamic keeps you in freeze mode.  Recognizing others' behaviors as their habitual strategies helps reclaim your power.
• Practice Self-Connection - Instead of seeking validation from someone who won't provide it, turn inward and self-attune:  What am I feeling?  What do I need?
• Ask for What You Want - If someone is dismissing your feelings, redirect the conversation by explicitly asking them to focus on your experience rather than rationalizing the other person's behavior.
• Recognize Their Needs - Many people default to giving advice or taking a contrarian stance as a way of meeting their own needs - to feel helpful, competent, or insightful.  Seeing this can help depersonalize their behavior.
• Exit With Grace - If someone is Monopolizing the conversation or invalidating you, set a boundary:  "I just realized I need to get going."  No justification is needed.
• Selfishness vs. Self-Connection - True self-care benefits everyone.  When you act from self-connection rather than obligation, you model healthy relational dynamics.

We Discuss: 

• 1:01 Opening thoughts
• 3:05 I feel undermined and I freeze.  How can I reframe this?
• 12:17 They're not "doing something to me".  They're providing data about themselves.
• 14:28 Asking for what you want as a strategy out of the educating
• 20:51 What can I say if I don't want to listen anymore?
• 28:27 What can I say when someone accuses me of being selfish?
• 31:04 Closing Thoughts

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