Dealing with Resentment

Most would agree that forgiving is better than getting even but, if you think about it, forgetting may be an even better idea especially if you take the words of Nelson Mandela to heart. “Resentment is like drinking poison in the hope it will kill your enemies.”

I know a fellow who, to avoid being fined for forgetting to pay the required toll road fee, moves his wedding band from his left hand to his right. Upon return he inevitably takes notice of the ring's placement and then immediately goes online to pay the required fee.

Now he could easily avoid doing this, if he abandoned altogether the occasional trip to San Clemente. The same can be said for resentment. If you decide to never again take the toll road to resentment, you will never again have to worry about having to pay the required emotional drainage fee.

So what's the plan? Put that ring on your right hand for as long as it takes to forgive the transgression, then put it back on your left hand where it belongs.

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Dr. Albert Cruz is the author of this piece and a phenomenal book titled Becoming Who You Want to Be. A certified Dale Carnegie instructor, he wrote the book to explain how, as an adult immigrant to the United States, he achieved financial independence before he started the pursuit of his first college degree at the age of 53. He now has two master's degrees and a doctorate and is teaching at Mesa College in San Diego, California. The book is available in both a hardback and digital format.