In the U.S., 1 out of every 4 people has experienced a strong form of harassment, oppression or persecution at least once in their life. It is often perceived as one of the most traumatizing times that one can possibly go through. A cycle of darkness in which seclusion seems to be the best way to cope. It is something that can take years to overcome, leaving many scars behind…
We are all different, we feel emotions in disparate forms and experience life subjectively, consequently, we all have our very own defense mechanisms and yet, we’re all still sensitive and vulnerable to harassment. Over the course of my life, I’ve encountered an alarming number of people carrying the heavy burden of emotional abuse to a point where it sucked all energy, happiness and joy out of them. At the other end of the spectrum, few, very few managed to find their way out by stumbling upon something greater and bigger than them. That’s what inspired this paper.
The human mind is fascinating, it could be our best strength or our main weakness. In a span of a pendulum swing, it can switch from being our biggest ally to our worse enemy. When surrounded by obscurity, fear, guilt, loneliness it doesn’t go quiet. Depending on how strong one can be, it might not show, but the tortured spirit is vocal — it screams, it cries — and it is constantly seeking answers. Why me? Is there anything to do? Are we simply what others want us to be? Are we destined to a fate beyond our control? Questions keep coming, unanswered, until they evolve to become affirmations in a self-fulfilling downward spiral. In certain cases, the mind even takes over in self-destructive fashion until no more harm can be done…
However, once in a while, an anomaly happens. A person is able to absorb all the clashes, the criticisms, all the negativity and rise above it. This individual sees his mind become quiet, open wounds are less painful, bullets do not hurt anymore. This effect compounds over time and leads to an impressive development in willpower. It is not only a convalescence, it’s a new beginning. These people are then capable of achieving things they would have never thought they could before. It’s tempting to look at famous examples and draw conclusions: Michael Phelps, Ranulph Fiennes, Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, JK Rowling, Bill Clinton could they have achieved all of their accomplishments without experiencing these incredibly tough moments? Would they have been able to become who they are now without overcoming emotional abuse?
With the rise of internet, extension and misuse of freedom of speech, harassment has been picking up speed. It is everywhere, an unfortunate part of modern society. Under cover of anonymity there has been an explosion in the spread of rumors, fake news and malicious content. This constant flow of attacks has extended beyond individuals to institutions, organizations, companies and groups of all kind. In some sense, these anonymous harassment campaigns are even more brutal and vicious because they are magnified by their amplitude, especially when more and more people join forces.
For a few years now, I’ve been following closely one entity in particular that has repeatedly been under attack: constant spread of misinformation, severe critics, stock manipulation, espionage, sabotage, and attacks ad-hominem. It seemed every strategy was on the table to make the company close its doors. One of the main reason is that it has made several industries massively uncomfortable because of its innovative and disruptive nature: A car company of a new genre working for environmental sustainability, defying corporate governance of big oil, dealerships alliance, carmaker oligopoly and utility corporations. For years and years the attacks kept coming but impressively, during all this time, it managed to somewhat stay strong on its feet. It did so by hearing critics when they were justified, focusing on its fundamental values, growing and improving its principal strength. It always believed in its mission, its ability to deliver, its strategy and leadership. By knowing what it was made of and moving step after step, it quietly became an unstoppable behemoth. Every criticized dimension of the business is now a secure pillar it can rely on. Finally, in the span of a few months the public image of this company completely flipped. Attacks started to lose credibility, weakened and rapidly became ineffective. Most naysayers disappeared and a few even embraced the success story. Malicious actors could not slow down this entity anymore, as it had grown immensely and is now shining bright, with the constant desire for improvement at its core.
I’ve purposely avoided to talk about my personal case but I know the story enough… It is extremely easy to harm, oppress, terrorize a person or an entity, but the ones that will come on top of it will gain this unmatched willpower to move mountains. All forms of nastiness can be a mighty source of energy once properly redirected, an energy that acts as the catalyst to fuel an exponential mental growth. Of course, it is easier said than done but my advice to the people who need it is simple: never give up on who you are, accept constructive criticisms, discard the rest and always believe in yourself. Use it as a fuel to reach a new state of mind. Let negativity bounce off you, and be the next anomaly that will rise up to shine bright.