Okay so I’m not big on TV and I
haven’t watched a lot of the show “X Factor” but I remember watching a clip
from one of the episodes of this girl who was severely bullied in
school, singing this absolutely beautiful song.
At the end of her performance, one of the judges said to her “all those
people that bullied you are at home watching you on TV”. That video and sentence are the things that
inspired me to do what I do. To me,
being successful is the best form of revenge.
When I was younger I thought that
revenge meant something more physical such as writing songs like Taylor
Swift. Sure, it can be effective but
that’s a lot of time to waste on someone just to let them know you hate them. And it’s not really satisfying. Unless of course you become a super star like
Taylor Swift did, but the chances of that are very slim. But of course nothing is impossible.
Anyway, I’m not auditioning for a
TV show (a least not yet), but there are things you can do to be successful and
above your enemies. That doesn’t mean
you have to think you’re “better than them”, but it is a good mindset to
have. I once witnessed someone say (and
I quote) “I’m better than you” to another person and it was probably one of the
cruelest things I’ve ever heard in my life.
So please, don’t ever think or say that to someone because that’s
definitely not what this post is about.
In the title of this post I used
the word “revenge”, but I've decided not to call it that. The word “revenge” implies that the focus is
on the other person, when really it’s about your gain of power. Plus it sounds really violent and the last
thing the world needs is more violence.
So I prefer to use the word “satisfaction”, which can mean “what is owed
or due to one, especially in reparation of injustice or wrong”. Before I actually figured out how much better
satisfaction was than revenge……well, I don’t like to think about that time in
my life.
So when you’re really angry at
someone, it’s hard to think properly, isn’t it?
All you can think about is how much you want them to “pay” or
whatever. But the truth is, that isn’t
always the best way to go about revenge, because it doesn’t always work out the
way you want it to, and usually you do more work than what it’s worth. And if you’re being honest with yourself,
you’re not satisfied in the end. That’s right, there’s the key word again.
You might be thinking “well you’re
saying all this stuff about being satisfied, but how do I get satisfaction”? See here’s the lesson it took me so long to
learn: it’s not about what you do to them personally, it’s about being the
bigger person. I know, you’ve probably
heard that from your mom a million times, but it’s what makes all the
difference. Notice how I said “bigger”
and not “better”. I never said to be
better than them because I just don’t promote that stuff.
How can
you be the bigger person when you’re only 5’3”?
If you were fortunate enough to be tall then lucky you, but just like
when people ask me how in the world I managed to shove someone who’s over 6
feet into a wall, it’s not really about your physical abilities. If that were the case, I wouldn’t even be
writing this right now. Being the bigger
person means no matter what the other person does, you handle it like a
pro. That means not taking the revenge
route, but not letting them bring you down.
A strong person doesn’t do this in an act of hatred, but in small acts
of dignity.
So to
sum up all this up in one sentence: don’t get revenge, find satisfactory in
being the bigger person, not the better person.