The best eight words of advice ever.
People Aren’t Against You; They Are for Themselves.
-Caroline Zelonka
I am not the biggest fan of simple statements or phrases meant to sum up the overall complexity of life but damn if the above quote isn’t one of the best I have ever seen. Very often in life we are confused that the world is against us but honestly it isn’t that people want to see you lose, it is just that they want to win. People aren’t as altruistic as we hope them to be but they aren’t as selfish as we believe them to be either.
Life Hacker sums up Caroline Zelonka’s quote very well:
It’s easy to go through your life believing that there are people out to get you, but the reality is that their motivation rarely has anything to do with you. They just want what they want, and sometimes that may affect you negatively…It can be easy to get upset with others who make choices that affect you negatively, and sometimes that’s warranted, but ultimately they’re just looking out for themselves. If you can remember that, it can be easier to let go of the little things and choose your battles wisely.
Props to Life Hacker: Source one.
Props to Caroline Zelonka via Quora: Source two.
Please share this with friends, enemies and temporary allies alike.
Thanks for reading, sharing and commenting!
R.I.P. SKH
About S. Maxam
congrats on having your blog added to the GMP umbrella Shawn
Thanks Jameseq I appreciate it.
That quote basically sums up the entire libertarian philosophy. If more people could internalize that this is how the world works, it would be a lot better place. There would certainly be less whining. Another aphorism I like is, “If most of the people that you interact with on a given day are hard to deal with, the problem is you.”
Thanks for the blog post, and the attribution. Lifehacker only mentioned that it was from Quora. Yes, I heard this piece of wisdom from an old boyfriend about 20 years ago, and it has really helped me put things in perspective. I’m glad you liked it, too.
Of course Caroline. You are very welcome. And thank you for sharing this amazing piece of wisdom with the world.