I spent almost twenty years full of anger and hatred at one person or another and I can tell you from firsthand experience that it does tear you apart inside slowly and can turn you bitter towards everyone and everything. It is something that I am still trying to recover from completely. It’s only the last few years that I have started putting all that hatred behind me.

Hatred is a dangerous thing; it consumes you without you even realizing what it is doing to you until it is too late usually. Hating people is a very easy thing to do; it’s a lot easier than the alternatives. Don’t hate any person no matter what they do to you or how they treat you, but feel free to hate the persons’ actions and behavior.

When you hate someone you give them control over you, a control that they have no right to. There is a line in the song “The Great Wall of China” by Billy Joel which is very true. The line goes, “You only beat me when you get me to hate”, and in other words when you give into hating a person you let them beat you.

Don’t get dragged down to their level and hate them, hate how they are treating you. Be angry at them, but use that anger in a positive way. Use it to show them that you can and will succeed, that you are a stronger person than they give you credit for and a better person than they are.