Last updated on April 5th, 2021 at 03:49 am
“Don’t get mad, get even.”
Revenge. It’s a dirty word looked down upon by our society—we look to turn the other cheek, let bygones be bygones and to give people the benefit of the doubt. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind and many moralistic lessons have been given to let us know that those who claim revenge feel nothing after they’ve done so.
But this isn’t a movie. It’s not TV, literature or the comics. It’s real life. And things work a little differently here.
Without a doubt, I agree that revenge is a bad thing. but the energies that fuel you from the act that sparked the revenge don’t necessarily have to be so!
Let me clarify with a few examples:
- many “nerds” who’re bullied and mocked in high school wind up becoming wealthy tech, science and business icons, if only to prove their worth to the world
- many a movie show a protagonist overcoming the villain without claiming their ultimate revenge, learning that the pain they were forced to endure only made them stronger in the end
- many victims of injustices around the world chose to create organizations to help others in the same situation rather than try to make the lives of those who hurt them any worse
It’s all about a redirection of our energies. When someone has wronged us or we’ve established a rival for ourselves, we feel a surge of adrenaline when we’re doing anything that might lessen their hold over us. If we go about it in the right way, we can use the very things that anger and upset us to do progressive and constructive things in the world!
So the next time someone does something that rubs you the wrong way, it’s not wise to get mad. Perhaps it’s not even about getting even. No, perhaps we should follow the advice that Ivana Trump gave when she was divorcing Donald:
“Don’t get mad—get everything.”
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