“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt
A friend of mine has been trying to get a new project off the ground and he’s facing a lot of opposition. I spoke to him the other day after a very tough day on which someone who is small-minded, insecure, and incompetent did everything possible to make my friend feel inferior. My friend is talented, thoughtful, and capable, and that was a hard combination for this other person to face. Petty people like his adversary take others down to make themselves feel better. They hate nothing more than seeing people do well because there’s a real self-loathing beneath that thin veneer of arrogance and narcissism.
If you’ve faced this kind of person, just know this: karma is the perfect accounting system. The world will eventually treat us the way we treat others. Though I was sad and angry on behalf of my friend, I have no doubt that he is going to be successful. He is powerful and passionate, strong and wise. And he follows one of my very favorite life mantras: Work hard and be nice to people. That’s the way forward. Everything else (and anyone who tries to get in the way of that work) is just noise.
Christa Avampato 