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Become immune to insult
Thursday, 27 October 2005
One thing that's certain in life is that a lot of people are going to try to insult you. This is true no matter what your position is. Bill Gates and George Bush are regularly ridiculed in the media, just as your average homeless person is abused by passers-by.
Almost every day of your life, someone will say something to you or behave in a way that's clearly designed to offend. How should you react?
The smart answer is - not at all.
In 95% of cases when someone directs a slight at you, it's not even worth your time to respond. In fact, it can be counter-productive.
It's easy to let yourself be consumed by emotional responses to offense. One petty slur can fill your entire day with bad feelings. Sometimes, years can be spent keeping a tight ball of pain inside that was begun from one simple insult.
Worse, by allowing yourself to be affected, you're giving the perpetrator exactly what they want.
Why do people hurl needless insults at one another? Mostly it's to do with power.
By making you feel bad, causing you to react, and making you behave differently to how you otherwise would have - an insult is an easy way for somebody to gain control over you.
In almost every case, the best way to respond to such a power-grab is to simply ignore it. Let the offender see clearly that their strategy has failed.
Their insult has just bounced off you. It is of so little consequence, that it's not even worth your time to react to it at all. The thoughts of a bug mean more to you than the petty offense that's just been pathetically hurled at you.
Look at those who succeed in getting their way in life, and you'll notice that ignoring insults is exactly how such people react. Every rich, famous and powerful person on the planet has derogatory comments made about them daily. The smart ones simply ignore them and get on with what they were trying to achieve.
It's often life's losers that allow petty offenses to consume them. They devote so much time and energy dealing emotionally with insults that they do things that are against their best interests.
When others throw their slings and arrows at you, make a conscious effort to let them bounce harmlessly off your thick skin. Your life will be much better for it.
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