NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE ENEMY –

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE ENEMY –

“Never underestimate the enemy.”

My father said those words to me when we were going over his future living arrangements, financial planning, and discussing what he wanted to change or keep the same in his life. He was finally being open and honest with me. Me being me, I gave him my opinion. My father did not agree with me and he told me, “Never underestimate the enemy.”

As our conversations continued, he was adamant and whenever a certain person was mentioned, he would repeat those words – “Never underestimate the enemy.” Things didn’t go as Dad had hoped but his decisions made him happy and gave him peace. He knew what would be coming my way since I was doing what he asked even though others did not agree with his decisions. Again, he warned me, “Never underestimate the enemy.” Believe me, I didn’t from the first time he told me.

My life experiences have shown me time and again that you don’t always know who the enemy is. When I say “enemy” I am talking about someone who is against you or hostile toward you. Your enemy can be someone who pretends to agree with you to get close. It can be someone who pretends to like you. It can be someone who lies to get what they want from you. Eventually an enemy will show their true colors.

So how do you protect yourself? I don’t know the answer to that and I certainly have been burned over the years by people who turned out to be an enemy. What I do know is that people are going to be who they are and there is nothing that you can do about that. You have to be happy and secure with who you are and how you treat people. Once you have that, your enemies cannot harm you.