I like being dismissed.
When a client cancels a contract. When a colleague I worked with decides to leave. When someone I love walks away. When people talk behind my back. To all of them—I’m grateful. Because they give me strength.
When a client pulls out of a deal, I work harder to land an even bigger client. I want to show them that they made a mistake. That they missed out on someone valuable—me.
When a teammate leaves, I’m glad. They had the courage to pursue their own path, and I respect that. At the same time, their departure gives me strength. The strength to succeed even more, to the point where they might one day regret leaving.
When someone I loved walked away, the pain lasted a long time. But thanks to that, she had the chance to meet someone better for her. And I, too, had the chance to grow and become someone better. I now know I can create more mature and meaningful memories with the next person who comes into my life.
Even those who talk behind my back—I’m thankful for them, too. Thinking of them gives me energy, even when I’m exhausted. Not out of revenge, but because they unknowingly cheer me on. They push me to live a proud, honorable life. I want to become such a decent person that they feel embarrassed for ever mocking me. I want to be known as someone upright, determined, and genuinely attractive—a person so admirable they can’t help but feel shame.
I’m thankful for all of them. Those who dismissed me, those who looked down on me—I’m truly grateful.
Of course, I’m still human. In those moments of rejection, in the middle of conflict—I got angry, I felt deeply hurt. Sometimes I was furious. Sometimes I was so hopeless I couldn’t even eat. But I’m still grateful. Especially now, when everyone seems to treat me well, those memories hit me like a cold gust of wind or a splash of icy water that jolts me awake.
I don’t want revenge. When I meet those people again someday, I want them to feel no hostility from me because I’ve become someone who’s truly okay. I want to be socially successful—not for pride’s sake, but so they feel awkward for ever doubting me. I want to prove that they were wrong about me.
If I believed the present moment would last forever, then yes—those who dismissed me would just be people who hurt and saddened me. But I believe everything can change within 3 years, 5 years. I live with the belief that within the next 3 years, I’ll have grown so much they’ll be shocked. That within 5 years, I’ll have succeeded enough for them to realize they were wrong.
I want to meet them again. Not to prove I’m better or worse, but to see how they’ve changed— and to see how far I’ve come since that moment in our past.