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I went outside yesterday and suddenly ran into a school friend.

He has not changed in the last eight years. He is exactly the way he used to be: looking down on others, showing off his own achievements, and talking about irrelevant things.

I did not have many friends during my childhood. If you asked me to count, it would probably be three or four at most.

And I usually ignore most people who used to be my classmates, or people I know somehow, if they are not kind or respectful towards me.

So I would have ignored this guy yesterday too, but I could not. And he proved exactly why I am right to ignore such people.

Well, he taught me a few lessons yesterday. Let me share them.

I have heard of social success, but I assume you have never heard the term societal success. Both are slightly different in meaning, so I preferred to use the term societal success.

What do I mean by this?

I mean being successful according to society’s standards. Study, do not play, get a job, marry early, have children, travel two or three times in your lifetime, and then die.

I hate this, and I promised myself I would never live that way.

But yesterday, he was talking about how almost everyone who had a job was making money by working 12 to 13 hours a day.

And the people who did not take a job, he referred to them as worthless. Well, you can probably see where I am coming from.

Then he also started showing off, saying he was successful because he works as a cameraman and gets calls from different cities for assignments. Notice that he also did not take a traditional job, but he is so self-centred that he sees only his version of success as valid.

There are some things I hate in life: revenge, ego, and making assumptions.

Beyond that, he used to look down on people during our school days, and he is still exactly the same now.

I do not mean that people have to change their identity, but if your identity causes harm to others, that cannot be acceptable. I do not want anyone to change who they are, but their actions should not harm others.

It is a personality trait characterised by an excessive focus on one’s own needs, desires, and experiences, while often ignoring the perspectives of others.

I experienced this firsthand, and I really did not like it. He has those characteristics, and I felt quite bad while he kept talking only about himself, his choices, what he wants, and so on.

The goal of life, in my opinion, should be to enjoy it while also making sure that the people around us find us approachable, too.

It was not a way to complain about him. It was a way to share the kind of people you may encounter in life, or better yet, why ignoring them can make your life better.

Thanks for reading G! See ya!

— Anirban

Lemons float, but limes sink? Because limes are denser and have a heavier ratio of mass to volume, they drop right to the bottom, whereas lemons have a slightly lower density than water, causing them to float.

The Laws of Human Nature, by Robert Greene. The book acts as a comprehensive guide to decoding human behaviour, understanding unconscious drives, and mastering self-control. Greene analyses universal psychological biases, flaws, and social dynamics across 18 distinct laws, utilising prominent historical narratives to illustrate each concept.