While preparing for an upcoming leadership presentation, I searched for a quotation to emphasize a point I wanted to make. This one from Nelson Mandela fits beautifully:
“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
It’s so true. Mr. Mandela tells us the poison contained within resentment causes a great deal of internal pain—enough to kill you. And a key symptom of internal pain is unhappiness.
Feeling unhappy can cause you to lose focus, make poor decisions, become unproductive, miss opportunities, negatively affect those around you, and lose both objectivity and creativity. Don’t forget the added level of stress and anxiety that resentment can build.
These ingredients don’t belong in any leader’s recipe for success.
Leadership Tip
Never allow resentment to enter your world. Find ways to be happy.
If you come across a situation that’s steering you in the direction of resentment, consider one or more of these seven actions to help you shut the door:
- Frequently remind yourself that life is too short to be unhappy.
- Take time for activities that make you happy.
- Explore memories about times when you felt happy.
- Talk to people you think will make you feel happy.
- Write a long list of positive aspects of your life and review the list often.
- Set new positive goals and get busy achieving them.
- Go somewhere that makes you feel happy, content, or comfortable.
Heck, even without resentment, this is a powerful list of how you can generate happiness in your life. Be sure to share it.
