Even though people who have been involved in a toxic relationship are largely viewed as weak, in reality it takes a great deal of strength to endure one and even greater will to come out of it. All the pain and suffering will have gone to waste, though, if you they don’t make you a better person.

A Toxic Relationship As A Precious Life Lesson

As Nelson Mandela famously said, we don’t lose, we either win or we learn. So, even though as you come out of a toxic relationship you may see the whole thing as a total waste of time and precious energy, in reality it’s a great life lesson; an opportunity to improve. Here are some of the most serious life lessons leaving a toxic relationship gives us.

Lesson #1. You Ought To Take Care Of Yourself.

It might sound selfish and narrow-minded, but there is nothing wrong in setting your personal happiness as your number one priority. In toxic relationships, we often leave our wants and needs in the backseat either because we lose sight of them or because we don’t think we are worthy of them. Loving and respecting ourselves before anything else is the only way to a real blissful relationship.

Lesson #2. Setting Boundaries Is Important.

Take the time to count the times you could have protected yourself by setting your own boundaries. Take the time to think long and hard of the things you really can’t stand in your life, the behaviors that simply don’t go down well. Now, make sure you never forget these things. Next time around, you will build your own fortress and let your next partner know of the places they can’t enter.

Lesson #3. You Should Always Be Ready For Change.

Most of us are afraid of change, and one of the most common reasons why people stay in unhealthy relationships is that they are too reluctant to leave their (dis)comfort zone, believing that they won’t find someone better and that it’s “better the Devil you know”. Once you leave a toxic relationship, though, you learn that change is not always a bad thing; it’s necessary for improvement.

Lesson #4. Learn To Trust Your Inner Voice.

Most of the people who have left a toxic relationship say that deep inside they knew all along it was not right for them. However, they chose to silence that inner voice telling them that they were not genuinely happy because they simply didn’t trust their instincts. No matter how right a relationship might seem on paper or to the outside world, our inner voice should always be heard loud and clear.

Coming out of a toxic relationship is a hard thing to do. There will be moments when you will question yourself and your decisions, you will feel lonely and abandoned and you will miss the good moments you shared together. But you should always remember that on our life journey some people are here to stay and make us happy and others are passers-by whose role is to teach us how to improve.