Don't get mad. Just get better

Have you ever felt degraded or belittled? Maybe you've been broken and defeated? Humiliated and bullied? I know that I sure have.
In High school, I was bullied. It wasn't fun and I felt very misunderstood and in a fearful state of minf. It's true, at the time I was quiet and insecure and not very confident (those days are long gone, Lol)
Perhaps that is one of the many reasons why I am very passionate and inspired when it comes to martial arts and defending those that are unable to defend themselves. Perhaps that is why I always root for the underdog in fights or situations. Because I was once the victim as an adolescent and knew personally on a deep level how that once felt, to be bullied and picked apart.
And it was by this one particular girl, she had behavioral this thing where she only wore name brand clothing and styles at the time and would mercilessly make fun of less fortunate people in school and pick them apart like a hienna. It was sad.
As though by bringing attention to their shortcomings, or lack of family financial means, or personal style, or courage and confidence, that it made her feel bigger and better as a person, to make them feel so small. And at the time I didn't understand why, and now I have a sense of compassion and sympathy that I did not know then.
Being on the mats has given me some clarification, and I understand now that people that belittle others, have an insecure and limiting mindset and paradigm. In holding others down, they get a false sense of security, and even entertainment. It takes away the attention of their own and insecurities and brings the light onto others' perceived  shortcomings . It takes a small person to make another feel low and "less than."
It is a little bit narcissistic actually, since it is all about them and not about helping and inspiring or leading others into their greatness and full potential.
As I focused more on constant self-development and self-improvement, I realized that the leaders that I connected and identified with and felt deeply  inspired with were those that lifted me up and believed in me, sometimes more than I believed in myself at that time. Confidence and self-efficacy is a key element to succeeding in your business or industry and it transfers into other areas of your life.
People that have that inner confidence and strength, they do not have to make others feel small, in order to exist, but instead make them feel bigger and lift them up instead of pulling them down.
What if we lived in a world where worrying about being judge or bullied was not an issue, where even the bullies and the insecure, narcissists, and people with Napoleon syndrome cases all opened their eyes one day and said "no more," I will only live to help and heal others. A world where others thought of others first and the "love thy neighbor" was truly implemented... What if? Well, we can only dream of something that we can see in ourselves, right. So why not be the change, to be come the things that we seek or wish in others?

That, my friend, is the challenge. And that, is also the lesson and the path.
Don't get mad. Don't get even. Don't get upset. Don't get discouraged or frustrated. Just get better. Get smarter. Get wiser. Get more passionate and driven. Get more efficient. Pick yourself up. And just get better.