It’s official: people are fascinating. And by “fascinating,” I mean I am currently staring at my Philz coffee with more affection than I have for about 90% of the population today.
I came across this quote earlier: “Crazy how mfs will work harder to destroy someone else than build themselves.” Can we just sit with that for a second? Because it hit me right in the “nurse brain.” You know, that part of me that spends all day trying to patch people up and keep things running smoothly, only to realize that some people out there are basically professional demolition crews—but only for other people’s lives.
Honestly, I’m almost impressed by the stamina. If some of these people put half the energy they use for drama, shade, and general “haterade” into, I don’t know… a hobby? A career? A nap? They’d be running the world by now.
Instead, they’re out here working overtime, unpaid, with no benefits, just to try and knock a brick out of someone else’s wall. It’s like they see you building something beautiful—maybe it’s your peace, your family, or just a really good Tuesday—and they decide their new full-time job is “Chief Destruction Officer.”
I’ve thought about this a lot (mostly while ignoring the piles of laundry that I should be building into a folded masterpiece). Tearing things down doesn’t require a blueprint. It doesn’t require patience, and it certainly doesn’t require looking in the mirror.
Building yourself up? That’s hard work.
• It’s facing your own mess.
• It’s admitting when you’re wrong (which, as a Leo, I can tell you is a truly harrowing experience).
• It’s staying consistent when you’d rather just complain.
But destroying someone else? That’s a shortcut. It’s a temporary high that makes people feel powerful because they’ve managed to create a shadow. But here’s the thing: The shadow only exists because you’re standing in someone else’s light.
I’ve had my fair share of people trying to rewrite my story or throw a wrench in my gears. And look, I’m a nurse; I’ve dealt with literal bodily fluids and high-stress codes. You think a little bit of petty energy is going to break me? Please.
But it does make me realize how precious my own energy is. I don’t have the time to be a construction worker for someone else’s downfall. Between managing life, the kids, work, and trying to figure out how to be a functional human at 36, my “destruction” budget is exactly $0.00.
The Moral of the Story: > If you find yourself watching someone else’s progress and feeling the urge to grab a sledgehammer… put it down. Go buy yourself a coffee. Work on your own foundation. Because at the end of the day, when the dust settles, the person who was building still has a house. The person who was destroying just has a pile of dirt and a lot of wasted time.
Stay focused on your own blueprint, friends. Let them keep their “overtime” in the drama department. We’ve got better things to build.