There’s an awful feeling we all know—being taken advantage of.

You know the one. It hits when you realize you’ve been pushed into a decision, and you’re left questioning, Was I just tricked into doing something I didn’t want to do?

It’s the regret that follows, and it makes you question: Am I a sucker?

I’ve felt it, especially when dealing with high-pressure situations, like buying a car. The dealership pushes you to make a decision on the spot, and though I’ve done my research, I still wonder if I was manipulated into a choice I wasn’t fully confident in. It’s a feeling I try to avoid, yet we all experience it in different ways.

This feeling doesn’t always come from those obvious, high-stakes situations either. It can happen in quieter moments, too—when friends, family, or even institutions we trust subtly push us into decisions. Maybe it’s a charity asking for more than you’re comfortable with, or an event that makes you feel obligated to give more of your time than you want to.

Even the smartest, most confident people can fall into these traps. I’ve watched as others get scammed through phishing schemes, tricked into believing they were doing the right thing, only to lose money or worse. It happens when we’re vulnerable, when our brains are not fully online and the fear is driving us into decisions we wouldn’t normally make.

So what can we do? We already feel like a sucker and now we feel even more vulnerable.

The key to reclaiming our confidence here is simple.

Listen in for my take on how we take our power back, find clarity and build the confidence to trust ourselves so the choices we make feel right, not pressured.