Courage to be disliked
Recently a friend of mine asked me a thought-provoking question, “How to build courage to be disliked?” Or simply to put it in a very generic way – how to face dislikes.
My first reaction to his question was a complete blank. I could not respond nor react. It took a while for me to absorb the intensity of the question. Also, it made me reflect a question which I have not thought about.
I took a while to decode this for my own life. So, lets understand this from my journey!
When someone asks this question or gives a thought to it, he or she has already covered a distance.
I did not really think of this question till my friend brought it up. So, I presume not many people dislike me or I have not come across many situations which corned me or made me uncomfortable. Or people dislike me but they don’t confront me. And there could be a few other possibilities. Please make your own judgements. It will help you to de-code this better in your life.
What makes me feel so confident about myself that not many people who dislikes me?
·???????I live my life very closer to how I actually want to live.
·???????What I feel, what I say and what I do are very closer to reality.
·???????I try to be as honest to an event or a situation and of course people.
·???????I am happy for myself & for you.
?Now let’s assume that there a bunch of people who dislikes me & have expressed their feelings publicly. How do I face this?
·???????If the person has expressed his dislike, he or she will give you an incident or a reason. The reason for dislike will have two possibilities: (a) it is true & gives you a learning to get better (b) It is untrue. Does not need any further explanation. You respect his/her feelings. Period.
·???????You do not need people to validate your life.
·???????You are aware that the journey you have embarked is ‘less travelled’ And it is obvious it will be challenging. Read ‘The Road Not taken’ by Robert Frost. Criticism is constructive, only if you are true to your life-living & life-choices.
·???????Born__________________Death. In between is you. No one else walks that journey.
While I was discussing this article with another friend, he mentioned something which took me by surprise. And I started to become defensive.
echo chamber, noun
His observation about the "echo chamber" is indeed thought-provoking and can offer valuable insights into how I receive feedback and viewpoints.
An echo chamber refers to an environment where individuals are surrounded by like-minded people or sources that reinforce their existing beliefs or opinions, leading to a lack of exposure to diverse perspectives and alternative ideas.
In my case, it seems that I might have inadvertently created a social circle or environment where I am less likely to receive critical or dissenting feedback, including dislikes.