Why People Get Weird When You Start Winning
It’s a time of spiritual warfare, and it’s important to always know how to protect your energy.
Life is about duality, which means there’s polarity in everything: polarity means there’s good and bad, so when the bad gets nasty, it’s important to know how to properly protect yourself. Let’s have a conversation on how to deal with people who are jealous of you or trying to undermine your progress by implementing some strategies from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
If you guys are familiar with this book, then you know that The Art of War teaches you how to win without having to go full-on war mode. The wisdom found in this book has been used not just in military stuff but also in business and life hacks and can be applied to so many facets of life, which is why I believe that using these strategies will help you deal with weird energy, jealousy, or just someone trying to undermine you.
When you’re on the rise to the top, there are people who are going to try to knock you down. We’ve seen it time and time again. This is why you have to have a strong belief in yourself so that regardless of who tries to knock you off your path or tries to destroy you, they don’t succeed. At the end of the day, no one can destroy you without your help, which is why I believe it’s important to arm yourself with knowledge so you can move strategically and always win in the game of life, so let’s get into it.
When you decide to do better for yourself, it offends people because a lot of people are more comfortable remaining stagnant and not working on themselves, so when they see you working on yourself and making progress, it triggers them because it reminds them of how much they aren’t working on themselves. It takes a lot to be able to get back up every time you’ve been knocked down. It takes a lot to be solution-oriented instead of constantly complaining without seeking betterment. It takes a lot to constantly strive towards your betterment as opposed to choosing to remain stagnant. It takes effort and courage to work on yourself. Because of this, when you start working on yourself or experiencing progress in your life, you’ll start to notice the haters in your life naturally. It’s inevitable. This can be triggered from progression in the most minuscule to monumental aspects of your life. It will still derive jealousy in others who are simply not choosing to work on themselves. You eventually become a constant reminder of their apathy or of all that they are choosing not to work on.
Funny thing is, they don’t realize that if they have someone triggering them, then it’s a wonderful opportunity to make a positive change. Triggers do act as a cue to let us know what it is we can improve on after all. The problem is that some people choose to not grow and try to bring someone else down instead to feel better about themselves or to “take the competition out.” When someone feels intimidated, insecure, or lesser than, it can trigger them into trying to knock you down a peg or destroy you. Whether it be through slander, sabotaging your opportunities, sending you evil eye, or just giving you backhanded compliments, it’s important to develop a strong sense of self-confidence when dealing with these types of individuals. If you’ve noticed people who are jealous of you, monitoring you while not supporting you, or trying to undermine your progress, then you’re most likely operating at your full potential or at least working your way up there, and you might benefit from implementing these strategies and philosophies from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
Avoid Direct Confrontation
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
Sun Tzu emphasizes the importance of avoiding direct conflict when possible. Instead of engaging with those who are trying to bring you down, focus on your own goals and maintain your course without being drawn into unnecessary battles. Maintain your composure and let your achievements speak for themselves.
When I tell y’all the amount of people that were supposed to be my friends or family that I found out were gossiping about me and slandering my name with lies. Like you can’t make this s*** up. Instead of stooping to their level and lowering myself by talking badly about them, I simply kept it pushing and walked away. None of these people are welcomed in my energy anymore. I am inaccessible. Why would I degrade myself by antagonizing someone who’s shown me they’re an opp? That’s a self-defeating mindset, and we don’t play that here. That’s exactly what they want from you: your focus and attention. They want the back and forth, and that’s exactly why we don’t give it to them.
In these cases it’s better to lock in. Any energy you give away to someone trying to undermine you is energy wasted because you could instead be using that energy for your own benefit by directing it towards your growth. This means minding your business and not playing into any drama. If someone is lying about you or slandering your name, let them. Trust me. It’s not easy because sometimes we do get the urge to be confrontational to defend ourselves, but most of the time it’s better to leave people to their own misery. Everything that’s done in the dark eventually comes to light, so if there’s anyone going out of their way to undermine you, remove them from your energetic field. When you stand strong in your convictions, your character stands stronger than any lie, slander, or sabotage that anyone tries to throw at you. I’ve seen it time and time again where people relentlessly come after little ole me and then experience the same thing they projected onto me. Karma is always going to hit ten times harder than you ever can, so focus on you and avoid any drama. As Sun Tzu said a while back, “The greatest warrior wins without a battle.”
Adaptability and Flexibility
“According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one’s plans.”
This means that flexibility is important when making plans. It means you should be willing to adapt your strategies or actions based on the situation at hand. If conditions are good, you might pursue a certain course of action; if not, you should adjust your plans to better fit the circumstances. Essentially, it’s about being pragmatic and responsive to changes.
“A military force has no constant formation; water has no constant shape. The ability to gain victory by changing and adapting according to the opponent is called genius.”
Like water, adapt to the situation by flowing around obstacles rather than confronting them head-on. If you encounter resistance or negativity, find alternative paths to continue progressing without direct confrontation. I saw this review on Taylor Pearson, and I honestly couldn’t have said it better myself. “Genius, in Sun Tzu’s explanation, is to behave like water. Water is strong offensively and defensively. If you are standing in the ocean as the waves come at you, punching or pushing at the wave is a strictly futile effort; the water simply redirects around you to the points where you are weak. You can neither strike it offensively nor resist it defensively. It flows away from where you are strong to wherever you are weak.”
Someone cannot destroy you without first destroying themselves. If someone is intentionally making something difficult for you, they are probably trying to get a rise out of you. Sun Tzu believes that it’s better to find another way in which you can progress. There’s always a way to pivot. I always found that when something doesn’t work out, it’s because there’s something better in alignment with me, or perhaps there’s a better way of doing the thing. What I mean by this is to be open to exploring all your avenues and not becoming glued to one specific way of doing things because when you’re open to going with the flow, it’s more difficult for anyone’s negativity to sabotage or mess with you. Endure when you must and move forward when you can, and remember, like Sun Tzu once stated, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
Deception and Strategic Thinking
Use strategic thinking to manage perceptions. Sun Tzu emphasizes
“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable. When using our forces, we must seem inactive. When we are near, we make the enemy believe we are far away. When far away, we must make the enemy believe we are near.”
In practical terms, this could involve managing perceptions by not revealing your full capabilities or intentions. For example, appear unaffected by their actions or stronger in areas where they perceive you as weak. This can help in maintaining your position and progressing without being hindered by their actions.
So in other words, don’t reveal all your cards. It’s okay to maintain an air of mystery. Be strategic with your moves. If you make a plan or set a goal, don’t announce it until it’s achieved. People can’t sabotage what they aren’t aware of, and trust me, if they are aware of it, best believe some people are crazy enough to go out of their way to try to sabotage it. Continue to work diligently and silently while remaining unbothered. And of course, the best way to appear unbothered is to actually be it, so if you want some tips on how to be unbothered, you should check out my blog post: How to not be triggered—a guide to being completely unbothered.
Know Yourself and Others
Understand your strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of the people trying to undermine you. This knowledge can help you anticipate their moves and respond effectively, choosing battles that are worth your time and energy.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle” via The Art of War
Y’all know that I’m always preaching about how important it is to get to know yourself, and the best way to do this is, essentially, dating yourself. Getting to know yourself. What drives you and what triggers you? What your foundational beliefs are. What you value. When you actually take time to introspect, participate in shadow work, and truly get to know your visual dimensions, you become unfuckwitable. No one can tell you about you, and it becomes that much clearer to see who’s just projecting. When you recognize that someone is projecting, you stop taking things so personally, and you realize that this battle is not worth your time or energy.
And let’s remember that not all battles are worth our energy. I always believe that it’s so important to have some sort of understanding as to why people operate the way they do. Someone trying to knock you down usually has more to do with themselves than it does with you. If you’re working on something different and someone doesn’t believe in you, it’s most likely because they lack that belief in themselves. If someone is slandering your name with lies, it’s most likely because they’re projecting their own characteristics onto you. If someone makes a remark in order to purposely trigger insecurity within you, it’s most likely because they feel small and insecure themselves. Human behavior goes deeper than meets the eye. So as difficult as it can be sometimes, try not to take it so personally. A person being weird towards you or undermining you is a reflection of how they feel within. When you feel good about yourself, you don’t go out of your way to talk down about someone, degrade them, or diminish their progress. When you feel good about yourself, you celebrate others, are happy for their accomplishments regardless of how small, and you lift them up. Some battles just aren’t worth fighting, so choose wisely and remember your energy is your currency. Is that really how you want to be spending it?
“He will win, who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” -Sun Tzu
Focus on Building Alliances
“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”
Instead of engaging in conflict, focus on building positive relationships and alliances. This can help create a support network that strengthens your position and diminishes the influence of those who are envious or jealous of you. This is because when you build alliances or connections, you also attract more opportunities that help you move forward in ways you probably wouldn’t have even expected. Sun Tzu even reminds us:
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”
Every time you build alliances, you’re forging opportunities. If y’all have been keeping up, then you know I’m really big on community. I think it’s extremely important to create a community with people who support and love you. This will not only bring a wave of good energy into your life, but it’ll also help you attract more opportunities. As much as there will be opps on your journey to progressing and elevating in life, there will also be amazing, supportive, loving, genuine, loyal people. As much as the red flags will be revealed to you about the Judases in your life, so will the green flags of Mary Magdalene’s in your life. Remember, even Jesus had opps. Protect your energy, y’all, and keep those close to you who help create a positive environment that diminishes the influence of detractors in your life.
Thank you for tuning into my blog. I hope these tips help you move forward on your life journey. As you progress through your goals, it’s only natural to attract opposition, but that’s not a bad thing. Being met with resistance when you’re going against the grain is pretty normal, and it actually helps build this amazing character. Think about it: how can you relate to others if you’ve never gone through anything, ya know? Get so rooted in your self-belief that you become unfuckwithable. Strategy is the name of the game, so use all these takeaways from, The Art of War, to deal with anyone who is jealous of your progress or trying to undermine you. Remember, as Sun Tzu once stated,
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
Stay focused, stay strategic, and let your success speak for itself. Keep pushing forward, and in the midst of chaos, find your opportunity.
