Excerpt from: One less rhinoceros (intentions vs actions & dealing with mean people)
One of the reasons that being mean to mean people isn’t terribly effective is that people learn most through personal experience or by observation of others.
Giving someone a taste of their own medicine is very unlikely to teach them anything new or show them that there’s a better way.
By being mean to a mean person, you’re simply showing them a behavior they’re already familiar with. All your negative actions do is demonstrate that you can stoop to their level. And now instead of just one person acting badly, there are two. And rather than solve the problem, it makes things worse.
Related:
- One less rhinoceros (intentions vs actions & dealing with mean people)
- One less idiot
- Break the chain
- The problem with the expression “Be yourself”.
- Be the kind of person that your heroes would be proud of.
- An honest enemy is better than a false friend
- You may not always know what to do, but you can always choose…
