I think the saying treat others how you wish to be treated doesn't exactly mean that you will be treated that way back. However the more people that treat others the way they wish to be, the better it will be on the whole. Of course not everyone is going to follow this.

Treating others how you wish to not be treated... doesn't make for a better world I wouldn't think.

Yes there are people out there who do not always have good intentions. But there are tons who do. It's easy to become cynical when you have faced a lot of bad stuff in life. But there is still a lot of good and lots of good people. The bad.. well it's more in your face, it's more noticeable and we tend to look for it more maybe.

You yourself are a good person.. so there could be others than as well.. like you? Sometimes I wonder if it's partly how we see things, one of my favorite sayings is " what seems like is coming at you is coming from you" very much to do with our perspective.

Or could be who you are surrounded by as well in part. Maybe a combination of things. But you said you want to turn a new leaf, so I would guess you are not happy to remain feeling the same. Honestly I am trying to think.. it's not that I have never felt like that.. I sure have. I guess for me I started to try to give others more understanding and compassion. And tho it did used to seem like they did not put in as much respect or care for me as I did them.. I think they actually did, just maybe not quite the same way. Because we are all different after all.. and I cannot be in their head or heart to know exactly how or what they thought.

Yes some people don't or will not put that effort or care in, but I think I would just rather focus on my own intentions and be content with who I am and what I do. And like happydaisey said distance between those who do not respect me.

If you know that you are not those things that you said others are.. then you can't really be sure others are not those things either, not all of them.

I do feel for you, I went through well not a lot of good stuff at all. But this is your life now, and for me that meant not staying hostage to the ill intent of others from my past.