Yes, You Get To

You get to choose. Don’t let the evil things others do influence you. Don’t let the crazies make you crazy. You get to choose. This game is not decided for you. What you get to think, you get to choose. Don’t fall for the trap, don’t listen to the hype. This is an opportunity for you to do something different and better.

Don’t let the crazy make you crazy. Don’t repay evil with evil. Make something good, make something enduring. Rise above your hurt, your suffering. That which people mean for harm; turn to good. Easier said than done, right? Maybe not.

If you encourage one person today, you will have done more good than those who tear down others. And chain reactions happen, encouraging others to do good. A rant may feel good and encourage others to rant. But anger only gives rise to more anger, and that is not what makes us better. It makes us a mob, it doesn’t elevate us.

When there are so many who are discouraged, help them, and you are doing good. Revenge tastes good, some say, but it’s empty in the end. It will win no one over. I’ve never met anyone who said to me, “wow that rant really won me over. I’ve changed my opinion.” I have, on the other hand, witnessed people change their perspective because of the good that is done, in contrast.

I’m reminded of Viktor Frankl and his story of surviving four Nazi concentration camps. How those who were filled with hate and the desire for revenge did not survive. It was those who focused on others, compassion, and finding someone to care for and help—they are the ones who found meaning and survived. Probably his most famous quote is this:

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” ~Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

To choose one’s own way that’s what I am going to do today. I encourage you to do the same. Rise above the discouragement and the darkness, and choose to do good today.

Be thankful for those who are in your life, and lift them up. 

Those who see life differently than you won’t be persuaded by yelling at them. If you hope to persuade them, be an example worthy of following. Those that do harm—don’t do more harm than them. 

I’m not advocating to let evil happen, no more than Viktor Frankl did in his time. He, like me, recognized that evil exists and must be confronted. However, I firmly believe that if your goal is to genuinely persuade others and affect change, you might need to reconsider that isolating yourself from individuals who hold different beliefs and resorting to anger and condemnation will not bring lasting change.

Persuasion involves understanding and empathy. It requires engaging with those who hold opposing viewpoints and finding common ground by building bridges and respectful conversation—caring for one another’s viewpoints. Yelling and isolation only serve to deepen divisions and entrench opposing beliefs.

Remember that everyone has their own unique experiences and perspectives that shape their worldview. It’s dangerous to assume you understand them and their motives.

If you feel the need to rant, my encouragement is to attempt to articulate your message without anger. Try to understand the fears of others, and find common ground to comfort them. Win them over.

Now that I have said all that, I admit that I understand what it is to be angry. I understand disappointment, fear, and worry. I understand the lack of control or the feeling that I have no control. But in the end, once I breathe and let those feelings pass, I am able to reconnect with others, and see some good, and recognize that it’s worth fighting for.

Do good. Do it today!