Life Lessons: Prove them right.

People love the idea of proving them wrong. This usually refers to people who have been mean, nasty, supportive or negative. The haters of the world need to be shown they were wrong, wrong, wrong.

I disagree.

People who are down on you don’t tend to change their opinions often. You’re not the only one they are down on. Maybe they’re often negative, they only see the glass half full types. Maybe they have a really different world view to you. Maybe other forces — religion, other people, you remind them of someone awful — got in the way.

These people don’t deserve any of your previous ‘prove them wrong’ statements. In Million Dollar Baby, Hilary Swank’s character Maggie is a top rated boxer, and he family give no flying fruits about it — you just need to see their callous and poor behaviour later on in the movie.

Prove them right.

I have some really negative voices around me sometimes. Worst of all, my impeccable memory means that I have retained almost every awful experience ever so I am well aware of people thinking less of me.

On the other hand, I have a small crowd of supporters. People who have respected me for a long time, or a short time, or who have said things to me that have brought me encouragement. These are the people I hate to let down. But this means something way more important — they expected my best.

Prove them right.

I’m proving people right through my freelance work. I’m proving people right through showing up to gym and being accountable. I’m proving people right by being a good mumma bear (okay, sometimes I’m not the best but I try). I’m proving people right by muddling my way through my first manuscript.

Few things make me happier than seeing people in my life succeed. Maybe those people aren’t friends, or family, maybe they’re just people I know. Doesn’t matter. Their success brings me happiness. And when things aren’t successful, the ability to start over is incredibly admirable. Success isn’t necessarily measured by accolades and career — it’s all sorts of things, whether someone wrote a book or tried something new, or paid off their mortgage, or found success in different aspects of their health, or found a new interest. Other people’s interests interest me! That doesn’t make me boring, just interested.

Prove them right.

It’ll make you a damn lot happier in the long run.