Why you need to take fire proudly
This is an impressive troll move that I am about to share with you.
I’m not much for social media, but I’m pretty active on email. This makes it hard to publicly troll me. I still get all manner of ugly trolls. They come and go. There is little satisfaction in trolling someone with no audience and who refuses to respond. Sometimes I duplicate what a troll says and send it out in a rebuttal email, but I seldom engage a troll one on one.
So, a troll of mine pulled an impressive move.
He and a friend of his emailed me with 30 or so other people cc’d and started a vague attack against general behaviors that applied to numerous people I knew who he had Cc’d.
The goal, though, was to get me going.
He did get me going.
Had he spoken dirty about me, I would not have cared, and would have moved on with my day.
Instead, what he did was that he started attacking some good people I know. And it was such a wonderful person who he attacked most: family man, organizer, dedicated, consistent, very generous with his time and talents.
Personally, I’m not much for sign waving, but the people who do wave signs have some stories of such great heroism that I unquestionably support their efforts.
This guy sent out an email intended to disrupt and cause strife for some folks who wave signs. I stood up for them.
Yes, I felt like I had so much time on my hands that I got myself in the middle of a stupid conversation like this — not the most impressive of maneuvers in my opinion — but it only took a few minutes, and I did not want good people insulted, or worse — discouraged. The main reason that I spoke up was so that I could have an opportunity to encourage these wonderful people.
Because I know something.
I know the rot of discouragement — if you let it sink in.
There will be that extra minute before you do something important that would have changed someone’s else’s day for the better, and instead of doing that thing, discouragement whispers in your ear that it’s not worth it to bother. This might be discouragement whispered to you during childhood or ten minutes ago. Either way, it has no legitimate place in your life.
When someone has words of discouragement for you, do not let those words sit with you for even a moment. Speak the words aloud: “I rebuke that” and say why if you want. But do not let words of discouragement hang in the air around you.
Even when you do not know what to say, just say, “I rebuke that.”
And perhaps more importantly, you need to do the same when words of discouragement are spoken in your presence about others.
If you are aware enough of what is happening in such a moment, then you are discerning enough and caring enough to be the vocal leader in a moment like that.
So you must step forward.
And if things go really well, what happened to me will happen to you — you will become the target.
Let the trolls come at you.
Let them come at you with all they have.
As long as they are not coming after the rest of your people.
Let them come after you.
Use their discouraging words to encourage yourself. And then use their discouraging words to encourage your people. (As I am here doing)
You wouldn’t want their compliments anyway. Insults from some are really compliments and vice verse. Just make sure you take the enemy fire and protect your own people.
To be able to so is not a burden.
To be able to so is an honor.
Tap here to support more work like this from my team and me.
Allan Stevo