The 48 Laws of Power in Practice

Law 36: Disdain Things You Cannot Have. Ignoring Them is the Best Revenge

Paying too much attention to something or someone gives them power over you. Small mistakes can look worse when you try to fix them.

Application –

When someone is acting like a bully or being petty; sometimes it's best not to engage. Unless you have something to gain by confronting it directly, you may find that the problem can go away by itself. Examples may include a coworker whose negative comments are dragging you down, or when someone trolls you on social media.

The second part of this deals with minor mistakes. When we make mistakes, our gut reaction might be to address them right away. Whether that is to try to fix it or cover it up, it becomes more visible when we take action. We think everyone is paying attention, but people may not even notice until we draw attention to it. This doesn't apply to big mistakes that need to be fixed, but those minor mistakes and inaccurate statements can just be let go without making them a bigger deal.

A Tale of Two Blunders–

Rushing to Rush

While I was rushing for a fraternity in college, I had the task of interviewing three brothers and sending them thank you letters. It seemed simple enough, but for me, college was filled with swirling distractions. There was the pressure of school work, a part-time job, painful relationships, and social awkwardness, which all seemed to take me from one moment to the next.

One day, I broke into a panic after realizing I mixed up two of the addresses. I told everyone and apologized profusely, making it such a big deal. The whole fiasco earned me a nickname; one that I will never repeat. As if it wasn't bad enough, I had remembered the whole thing incorrectly; I had the right addresses on the letters after all.

Close Call at Last Call

I was at a bar on a date when we ran into someone else I had been dating. A couple of weeks before, I had stopped contacting him to focus my attention on a new love interest. It had been casual, and mutually noncommittal, so I didn't see the need to break things off officially.

Horrifyingly, he spotted me and came over to say hi. My other friend had met us there, so there were three in my group when he approached. My heart was pounding, as I watched everyone make introductions.

Then my date asked him how he knew me. To which he answered, "she picked me up at this bar". I don't know what came over me, but I let out a boisterous laugh and slapped his shoulder, saying "you're sooo funny!". He was a little confused but laughed as well. The amused look on my date's face told me he thought it was a joke too. To my relief, nothing came of it. But as soon as I had the chance, I made our group high-tail it out of there!