Daily Inspirational Quote September 16 2014
“You can discover what your enemy fears most by what he uses to frighten you.” – Eric Hoffer
People usually have a very limited range of responses to life’s upsets. One man may always threaten physical violence while another may threaten to sue. One woman may hint she’ll never speak to you again while another may swear that she’ll expose your secrets to the world if you leave her. Often when conflicts arise, it’s because we mistakenly assume that others think and feel the way we do, but enemies are generally those who are fundamentally different from us — people we just don’t understand. Whether we hope to create harmony or simply to protect ourselves from harm or manipulation, it helps to figure out what others most fear and value.
People usually have a very limited range of responses to life’s upsets. One man may always threaten physical violence while another may threaten to sue. One woman may hint she’ll never speak to you again while another may swear that she’ll expose your secrets to the world if you leave her. Often when conflicts arise, it’s because we mistakenly assume that others think and feel the way we do, but enemies are generally those who are fundamentally different from us — people we just don’t understand. Whether we hope to create harmony or simply to protect ourselves from harm or manipulation, it helps to figure out what others most fear and value.