I know all about commitment. I commit to hiding and exaggerating my flaws, trying to make others happy and comfortable at the expense of my own happiness and comfort, supporting other people’s dreams at the expense of my own dreams, and criticizing myself and others at every turn. I commit to what I think I should be rather than committing to meeting myself where I am. I commit to seeing myself through other people’s eyes, gauging my self-worth based on their acceptance rather than witnessing my unique inner beauty and strength. I commit to being nice rather than being real. I commit to being right rather than being vulnerable. When other people in my life don’t behave in the way that I think they should I sulk and mope or worse, I get even. I justify my emotional outbursts or bad behavior based on the actions of others and in so doing; I often act in the same manner as the person who set me off in the first place. When I give others the power to push my emotional buttons, I become their slave often without realizing it. The problem is I am the one who suffers.