The Courage To Be Disliked

Standing your ground in the face of threats and accusations is admirable. I don’t mean being obstinate, but when you have the facts, and the other side prefers to build their position on imaginary possibilities, giving in on fear of being disliked is the difference between rules of order and rules of whim and circumstance. The cost of being disliked is nothing compared to the consequences we trade out of fear.

People who stand for positions and beliefs with courage to be disliked probably have the preponderance of the evidence on their side. The people who threaten, accuse, and condemn, I think, are acting out of fear of being found out. I’m learning the way to a solution is to seek resolution, without changing the stance of the other side. The solution is much closer than the impossibility of changing minds based on fantasy and conspiracy theories with facts. Facts are closed doors compared to the self satisfaction and imaginary outcomes fantasy affords us.

We’ve all been through the test of courage to be disliked. In grade school the stakes are high for developing minds. By high school the stakes can be life and death. As adults in the world, the stakes typically involve money, prestige, position. I’d rather be known in the end for standing with facts than conceding to be liked. I doubt conceding ever ends with being liked anyway. This book I am buying today The Courage To Be Disliked.