Yesterday I wrote about sound and healthy boundaries and the need to have a good sense of when to “apply the brakes” in a relationship. In an attempt to win a person, to find some sense of security in a relationship, many men and women abandon themselves and give their all, without clearly seeing the other person has little or even no desire to be reciprocal. It is NOT a relationship if ONE person is doing all the work. I’d suggest you need a brake alignment, or a complete new set of brakes, if….

1. You are giving your trust, forgiveness, and respect to a relationship and there’s little or nothing of the same coming back to you.
2. You buy gifts, send cards, and are always on the lookout for what a particular person needs or wants, and yet you get little or nothing back.
3. You will readily volunteer your services and time, reschedule your own plans, and try to move heaven and earth for someone, but you get little or nothing back.
4. You work hard to keep a particular relationship going and the other person appears not to work at it at all.
5. You are emotionally involved at a deep level with someone who may well be totally unaware of your growing obsession.