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First, they ignore you then they laugh at you: This is a typical response for anything people don’t agree with. This is the world we live in. New ideas are not always welcome, they will be met with resistance, challenge and sometimes even a fight. This is especially true if your ideas are in conflict with some set of thoughts or you challenge people in power.

But our job is not to listen to the entire world. We start from within. This is what the purity of our mind tells us – we get these thoughts for a reason and it is our job to act on it. This quote by Mahatma Gandhi shows us what to expect when you’re taking a stance. It also motivates us to stay strong in our beliefs and find a way to express them without fear or prejudice. (Believe in yourself, particularly when the rest of the world doesn’t)

First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you

This is a typical response of resistance. People resist for various reasons. `sometimes it is out of fear while others it is about protecting their positions. The source of resistance is always interesting. if we dig deep enough, we will understand if this resistance is to be treated as feedback or if we need to ignore or resist. The tone, message and content – they all contribute to telling us what this feedback means.

But people show resistance in all sort of ways. They even shout at you and fight. This is true for all and any new ideas. They will not be welcomed with open arms even if you think they are most logical. The challenge at this stage is about convincing people why your thoughts may be right. And in some cases, there’s no convincing too. In such situations, if you have conviction in your thoughts., the best thing you can do is continue to take action. People will come around when they see results.

Then they laugh at you then they fight you

The next stages of resistance are about attacking your personality and sometimes they may get physical too. These attacks can come from a place of insecurity, wonder and even not understanding what you’re referring to. No matter what the source of these outbursts is, they may still be pointing to something. You still have to find out why they are attacking you. Are they scared or are they trying to help you achieve your purpose? If someone is attacking you with the sole purpose of defeating you – they become an unworthy opponent. (Destructive vs constructive criticism)

A worthy opponent elevates your line of thinking and challenges you to think of something better. Look for such opponents and feedback from these people. They will help you improve and move forward. The others can just be mere noise at this stage.

Then you win

Your victory is not in the acceptance by people. It will come as a result of you achieving your goals or purpose. As long as you’re focused on that, external acceptance becomes an event. It is an event which is of less relevance and significance because it only acts as an acknowledgement of the great quality of work that you’ve done. Let people go through their stages of ignoring, laughing and fighting you. You put your head down and focus on what you want to do. The rest will find a route to come to you.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win – Mahatma Gandhi Quotes