Many moons ago, after I was ruthlessly bullied by a couple kids in elementary school, my grandma found me in tears on my bedroom floor. She sat down next to me, gave me a hug, and let me vent to her. Then, after there was silence between us for a prolonged period, she said, “Those bullies just want to make you feel bad all day long. That’s their goal. And if you continue to feel bad about their foolish antics, they win. However, if you let go of their foolish antics, and instead focus on feeling good and helping other people feel good, you win. There’s always a winner in these situations. And it’s always your choice.” I hugged my grandma again and said, “Thank you.”
Regardless of our age or social status, there will always be some difficult people out there who want nothing more than to bully and belittle us. Sometimes they’re colleagues at work, sometimes they’re people in our neighborhoods, sometimes they’re the mean kids at school…
And just as difficult people will always exist in the world, so too will our power to (more…)
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