The Rules to Break, 2nd Edition

RULE TO BREAK

“Think on your feet”

In some situations, thinking on your feet can work well. Sometimes there’s no choice, of course. And some of us find it easier than others. But in tricky situations, it’s much smarter to plan in advance what you’ll say or how you’ll act.

This applies to bullying, just to give you one example, as we’ve just been thinking about it. If you know that a certain classmate or colleague or ‘friend’ is likely to make fun of your weight, or your background, or your handwriting, or your sales record, or your hairstyle, or anything else, just decide in advance what you’ll say in response. It doesn’t have to matter (within reason) what this is. The point is that you’re writing the script, which puts you in control. And ...