I think I used to be like that too. I would feel terribly puzzled as I objectively knew I was doing ok. It’s so hard to accept that other people might not be truthful and might even be mean. I think mean people rely on that.

And it’s not naivete when we are in situations where we should reasonably expect to trust people to be good, to think it’s naivete is blaming the victim. I wouldn’t trust a stranger but people I know or work with, then I should be able to.

The blame is on them for exploiting a work relationship.