Funny thing about insecure people:

They’ll call me “materialistic” while measuring their own worth in what they can take from others.

They’ll call me “controlling” when they can’t stand that my boundaries don’t bend for them.

They’ll call me “mean” when the truth makes them squirm.

They’ll call me “cold” because I don’t collapse without their approval.

It’s not that my values are the problem, they hate the mirror I hold up.

My existence reminds them of everything they pretend to be but aren’t.

People with low self-worth hate being in the room with someone who lives by their own values, especially when those values match the ones they claim to have.

They twist what they can’t live up to into flaws, so they can keep underperforming without guilt.

Here’s my personal favorite set of “translations” from the insecure-and-defensive dictionary: