The Rules to Break, 3rd Edition

RULE 5

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction

Newton’s third law of motion of course. But also a Rule of interaction with other people. If you push against someone, they’ll push back. You can’t blame them, they’re just following a natural law. One of the most obvious examples of this is between parents and teenagers. The more resistance a parent shows to their child becoming independent, the harder that child will rebel. But that’s far from being the only example.

This partly explains why some people fall into the ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’ trap. It doesn’t justify it, mind, but it helps explain it. The fact is that if someone pushes you, your instinct is to push back. It’s human nature as much as it’s a law of nature. ...