Heard something that really struck me on a podcast today and I wanted to share it.
“Victimhood has become currency.”
About 15 years ago, I had a couple of close friends that taught me about what it meant to be a victim. It changed the way I think completely (they probably don’t even know that). It also allowed me to identify victimhood in myself and it’s brought about a desire for extreme ownership (Kudos to Jocko for coining that amazing term). I’m far from perfect at it, but it’s changed me and I attribute most of whatever success or happiness I’ve had in my life to the idea of not allowing myself to be a victim.
If you have a victim mentality, nothing in your world appears to be in your control and you blame others for your circumstances. It makes you incredibly unhappy. I hope we can all strive to have this concept as part of our foundation of thought. If you don’t already have it, I’ll tell you that I will change you.
Victimizing people. That is currency too. The rules of our system often make victimization not only more likely but also profitable.
People who mostly identify with the way they were victimized are just in a different part of their healing. It's easy to recognise how being stuck in that position is unhealthy - even for a lot of folks who are in it.
My personal opinion is that it is just as unhealthy, albeit more comfortable, to be in a position of believing you have ultimate say in whether or not you are victimized.
I say there are only levels of safety and everyone, especially those victimized, should take reasonable steps to be safe. But I don't we should ever move into a space where being a victim is the victims fault.