Those who grew up needing to earn love are likely to spend their adult years accepting scraps of affection.
They apologise for needing attention, feel grateful for basic respect and overly thank others for doing the bare minimum.
These individuals work overtime to prove their worth in relationships; they over function, over extend and over complicate simple dynamics, while holding themselves to impossible standards of perfection.
They write lengthy excuses for other peoples poor behaviour yet what they’re chasing isn’t really love it’s just validation of the worthiness they never got to feel as children.
They’re still trying to earn what should have been freely given to them, still trying to win what should’ve been accessible from the start.
Love isn’t a reward for good behaviour and worthiness isn’t something to be earned.
A healthy relationship does not call for constant auditioning. Real love no matter whether platonic or romantic feels like peace, not proving.
We must understand that we have always been worthy of love but some of us have just been surrounded by people who were incapable of giving it.