"To refrain from imitation is the best revenge."
-Marcus Aurelius
This is as simple as it comes, but is one of the most difficult ideas to put into practice.
When someone wastes your time, you feel inclined to waste theirs.
When insulted, you feel compelled to return fire with your own verbal onslaught.
When struck without provocation, the inclination is to do the same.
This is why we see so much of society involved in petty tit-for-tat disputes over things like spilled drinks, parking tickets, being skipped in line at the store, voting over local issues, arguing over referee calls, or starting a shouting match over a game of chess.
"An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind," right?
Taking the "high road" does not mean looking down on someone or doing what they did better, it means acknowledging that something was done which impacted you in a negative manner... and then choosing not to engage with behavior that it beneath you.
Once you throw a tantrum over the new speed bump and demand a new curfew at the town hall because your neighbor was upset over your speeding through the neighborhood and you don't like their kids taking long walks in front of your home after sunset, you've just conceded power to the other person. Once you slap the burger from someone's hand because they spilled your drink, you're no better than them. In fact, you're arguably worse.
Letting emotion dictate your reaction instead of thinking through the consequences and alternatives will ALWAYS give power to the very people who are seeking that power. Even if they aren't, and you're simply reacting to a perceived slight, you have sacrificed your integrity and your agency upon the altar of another person. You are allowing something as minor as inconvenience to discard your morals for a few fleeting seconds of gratification.
And you're better than this.
Just because you're upset does not mean that retaliation is justified. There is a time and place for that, and it certainly isn't when someone wastes your time in a meeting or outvotes you on whether or not murals on the crosswalk are protected art or distractions for drivers. Save your wrath for when you are truly in danger, not when your fries are cold, your rook is taken by their king, or your team takes a penalty because the ref is married to one of the other team's cheerleaders.
Don't give them the power.
Don't be like them.
Be happy. Be healthy. Be mindful.
But don't be petty.
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1 week, 4 days ago
31 Aug 2025 08:57 CEST
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