You should never be afraid to lose people -- whether close friends or mere acquaintances -- if keeping them in your life means losing yourself in the process. And how might you lose yourself? You can lose your self-identity by (1) changing yourself to appease them (2) doing everything in your power to please them while neglecting your own needs and wants. Sure, in any relationship, a little flexibility -- some give and take, if you will -- is to be expected. Sometimes you may accede to the other's wishes as far as where to go and what to do. Maybe your friend has kids and you don't, which necessitates planning outings around their busy schedule. But a line needs to be drawn somewhere. If you find yourself making concession after concession while the other person refuses to meet you halfway on anything, let's call the relationship what it really is -- one-sided. Unfortunately, some people become a little too complacent, expecting the other person to always bend...

The expression "settling for less" gets thrown around quite loosely, but what many people fail to realize is that it is entirely subjective. One's idea of settling less may not jibe with someone else's. While you may perfectly content with a GUESS purse, your gaudy friend may feel you're settling for less unless you opt for a more luxurious brand, like Coach or Louis Vuitton. Or, while you're happy to hook up with average-looking but highly intelligent guys, your sister may insist that you're settling for less unless you set your sights on guys who are a "9" or better in the appearance department. Furthermore, you may be told you can do better if you are not the CEO of your company, but what if you're happy having a less taxing, lower-paying job if it means spending more quality time with friends and family? This type of thinking is seriously misguided. The fact is that people have different tastes and disparate desires. Some of...