5 Reasons Why You Should Keep Your Friends Close And Your Enemies Far, Far Away

Despite my fair share of angry rants, there is really only one type of vile person I hate in this world: disingenuous, calculating pieces of garbage.

The type of person who doesn’t have good intentions and shows no remorse after (most often deliberately) undermining you. This is true evil and I want nothing to do with it.

People often say to keep your enemies close to you. That way, you can read them more closely, be prepared in advance for any blow and hold better tabs on their movements.

By remaining close with your enemies, you are effectively manipulating the situation to protect yourself from future attacks.

But if you can’t stand someone that much or if this person is incredibly difficult to trust, why would you want to keep him or her around, let alone close to you?

Here’s why I prefer to keep my enemies far, far away:

1. The aggravation

When you truly don’t like someone, being in his or her presence can be extraordinarily painful. In fact, the very sight of that person can actually flare up your temper and make your anger worse.

These people provoke a certain heatedness that lingers underneath your skin and bubbles up when you think of them. I’d much prefer not having to see anyone who brings out the worst in me.

2. Your enemy doesn’t have your best interests at heart either

Don’t underestimate your enemy’s cunning prowess as well. Keeping him or her close to you also means that he or she can learn your weaknesses and methods. Remember, this person isn’t looking out for you and is just as wary of your intentions as you are of his or hers.

By staying away from your opponent, you are creating a distance between the two of you, which acts like a barrier to any insights he or she will try to gain about you.

3. You have to watch what you say

This is especially relevant for artful adversaries who shamelessly steal other people’s ideas (you know who you are) or shrewd opponents who collect information for their own personal use (you know who you are).

Around these types of enemies, you have to be the most careful with what you choose to say in front of them. Who wants to think that much?

If your contender is kept at a distance, you won’t have to worry about filtering yourself or monitoring every word. You don’t need to agonize that you said something you shouldn’t or that this person will twist your words against you.

You should surround yourself with people whom you are comfortable with, not people who may or may not be plotting against you.

4. Out of sight, out of mind

Keeping your enemy close doesn’t eliminate having an enemy in the first place. When you separate yourself from toxic people, you can keep their evils at bay and eventually forget about their existence.

Space from your contender helps erase him or her from your mind and encourages you to move on. You’re not constantly reminded of how terrible this person is and how much you dislike him or her.

Maintaining distance over time allows you to gain greater perspective and handle hair-splitting situations from a place of maturity.

5. Lover not a fighter

At the end of the day, I much prefer being a lover to a fighter and I don’t want to fight with anyone. Having your trigger-person around doesn’t improve your character, it brings you down with him or her instead.

After someone has wronged you, the last thing you want is to engage in anymore negativity. Surrounding yourself with bad energy further breeds bad energy.

Photo Courtesy: Black Swan