choose your battles wisely

Have you ever found yourself in a heated argument over something trivial, only to realize later that it wasn’t worth the fight?

Ever heard rumors going around you that is absolutely false? You feel like you wanna correct them, but you walk on, ‘cause it really isn’t worth the time and effort to convince people.

Choosing your battles wisely is an underrated skill that can bring you peace and calm, and more time on your hands.

Let me try and explain to you how you can do a better job at picking the right fights, and avoiding the small scraps.

Why do we keep saying ‘Choose your battles?’

On the surface, the answer seems obvious— if you fight every battle, whether it be personal, political, or psychological, this will quickly become very tiresome.

If there isn’t some screening process for which we filter out those small battles (backyard scraps) we don’t want to fight, then our life would be an endless warzone.

The phrase ‘Choosing your battles’ implies—we always have a choice.

To choose your battles wisely, means you don’t have to answer to every negative challenge that comes your way.

Like the saying goes, ‘You don’t bark at dogs that bark at you’, don’t try to prove yourself everytime, everywhere, especially in places of insignificance.

Reserve your energy for the bigger ones.

The 12-rounders. The heavyweights. The cage matches.

Remember, remember, remember.

You CANNOT please EVERYONE.

So stop trying.

If everyone’s happy with what you are doing, then you’re doing something wrong.

If you manage to piss off some people, congrats. You are on the right path.

In life, not everyone will see it your way. The way you see it.

The always unsatisfied ‘gremlins’ will always growl.

You don’t owe them shit, let alone an explanation for your actions.

If you keep feeding them by paying attention to their words, you’ve let them won.

You lose the moment you acknowledge them. 🙅‍♂️

In the long run, fighting these small battles with these kinda people will only drain your energy, and you will lose the war.

Ofcourse, if they are your superiors, you ain’t got a choice but to be a ‘good samaritan’ per se.

But remember, learn to control your temper around them.

Some things said can’t be taken back.

The most important and hardest thing to control in the world, is your tongue.

I mean look at us.

Us humans. So fragile, yet so strong when the time comes.

All of us are in a constant war with the environment around us, the people, situations, careers, day in and day out.

And then there’s the ever-pending battle with our own minds.

The voices. The constant flux of changing and judgment of every decision we make and take, by none other than ourselves.

From the anxiety you get trying to decide on a career track in early adulthood, to having trouble in deciding whether to order a Margherita or a pasta at Writer’s Café, we’ve all had our moments.

I’m sure that you’ve had to as well.

So, fret not.

Why waste your time to joust with ‘drama queens’ when you can get in the ring and pound knuckles with Muhammed Ali? Worst case—you got to fight, and you got to fight Muhammad Ali.

So to summarise, don’t say yes to every fight you see, sometimes it’s better to trod on, and take the ‘loss’ momentarily.

It doesn’t matter what people think, their thoughts do not make you poor, or rich.

So choose your battles wisely, because trust me, you are gonna be fighting a lot.

Win the battles, and the war will be won by itself.

Buckle up soldier and remember, you’ve got limited ammo.

So,

Choose your battles wisely.

Godspeed.

You are loved. 🫵🏽