“If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation.”

— Epictetus 

Some miserable people live their life looking for the next opportunity to provoke or bother someone. 

Don’t let it be you. 

Even if they go out of their way to insult you – you can’t get angry if you have a strong mind. 

The easy route is to be annoyed, to be miserable, to be distracted, to be hopeless, to be disempowered. 

And the hard route is to live as an empowered individual. To remain calm, centered, and uneffected by the hate & misery of others.  

Provocation is just another distraction sent by the ignorant to destroy your inner peace. 

The ignorant have no life of their own so they become lifeless parasites, literally like diseased bugs, trying to spread their disease – their hate, misery, violence, ignorance, pain, etc. and they’ll get you if you don’t put your bug spray on. 

And what is your bug spray in this situation? It’s focus. 

You must remain focused on your mind and your life. 

What are you doing with your life? 

Where are you going? 

What do you want your life to be like 2 years from now? 5 years. 10 years. 

Maintain a long term vision, add goals, and act toward your best life, and when other people call you “difficult” it’s because you can’t be provoked or manipulated. 

Stay true to your life path. 

Ignore the haters. 

Focus. Win.