Joy feelings magazine July Issue 2019 | Page 40

If a friend told you her boyfriend was doing and saying the things your boyfriend does to you, what advice you might give her? Now turn that advice on yourself. Sometimes it’s easier to see the truth when we imagine it’s someone else’s truth. 2. Don’t waste more time defending your mistake. “No one wants to be proved wrong, which is why so many of us choose to stick with a bad relationship rather than admit we made a bad choice. But staying in an unhappy relationship for five years is a mistake – and staying in it for a lifetime is a catastrophe. Far better to stop defending the decision you made way back when and start considering a new decision based on what’s happening now.” Don’t think of yourself as having made a mistake; think of yourself as making the right decision to leave something that doesn’t work for you. What could be more right than that? 3. Remember who you used to be. “Women are also more likely than men to make changes during a relationship, and it’s easy to forget you were once an