Too Much Familiarity Breeds Contempt
Setting Boundaries, Protecting Self-worth, and Nourishing an Ego
In my workstation I wrote:
They say too much familiarity often breeds contempt. I’ve seen this truth unfold in my own life. Sometimes, a simple gesture of kindness or goodwill is met not with gratitude, but with disrespect or even hostility. When that happens, it reveals more about the other person’s narrowness of mind than it does about us.
In such moments, I remind myself: I owe no lengthy explanations. If my intention was clear and my actions sincere, then I can step back in peace. And if someone insists on treating my kindness with contempt, then perhaps the best response is not revenge, but distance. Sometimes the most dignified reply we can give is space, space that says, “Here is what you asked for: indifference. A dose of your own medicine.”
There are times when we must also nourish our own sense of worth, especially when others try to diminish it. This isn’t arrogance, nor is it retaliation. Rather, it’s self-preservation. It’s choosing to avoid the lingering negativity that others project, by wrapping ourselves in what I like to think of as a cloak of glass, strong enough to protect, yet clear enough to let the light shine through. Whatever malice others try to hurl simply bounces back without hurting us.
The lesson is simple: not every battle is worth fighting, not every insult deserves a reply. Protect your peace. Value your dignity. When others choose bitterness, choose to rise above it. In doing so, you don’t just guard your heart, you also teach yourself the quiet strength of self-respect.
Protect your peace, let malice return to its sender while you walk on with dignity.