When They Want to Fight

Captured by Mitchell Royel

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The narrative is changing—and if you've spent any time in the public eye, you understand this reality with brutal clarity. People will come at you with everything they have. They'll criticize your choices, distort your intentions, and manufacture outrage from nothing. They want a reaction. They're searching for that moment when you break, when you descend to their level and engage in the mud-slinging they've carefully orchestrated.

Here's what I've learned: refusing to fight doesn't make you weak—it reveals your strength.

The Anger Industry

Our culture has constructed an entire infrastructure around making people angry. Social media algorithms reward outrage. Cancel culture thrives on immediate condemnation without nuance or context. The mob mentality isn't just alive—it's been weaponized into a sophisticated tool for destroying reputations and silencing voices.

The greatest threat to your peace isn't the criticism itself—it's the belief that you must respond to every provocation.

I've faced my share of public scrutiny. The egging incident, the reckless behavior, the mistakes I made when I was barely old enough to understand their consequences. People wanted me to implode. They expected the typical child-star flameout, and when I refused to give them that satisfaction, they doubled down on their attacks.

Dismantling the Reaction Trap

Engagement with negativity isn't dialogue—it's surrender. When someone attacks you with the explicit goal of triggering an emotional response, giving them that response represents their victory, not yours.

The left's playbook depends on baiting you into reactive behavior. They manufacture scenarios designed to provoke, then weaponize your natural human frustration as evidence of your unworthiness. It's a calculated strategy—and it only works if you participate.

My generation stands at a critical crossroads: we can either embrace emotional discipline and strategic silence, or we can become perpetual participants in manufactured outrage cycles that serve no constructive purpose.

The Corporate Leadership Framework

True leadership—whether in entertainment, business, or public life—requires mastering the art of strategic non-engagement. Here's what being the bigger person actually means in practical terms:

Tip 1: Evaluate the Source Before the Statement
Not every critic deserves your attention. Anonymous accounts, professional provocateurs, and individuals with demonstrable patterns of bad-faith engagement—they're not seeking dialogue. They're seeking entertainment at your expense. Distinguish between legitimate criticism that challenges you to grow and performative outrage designed to diminish you.

Tip 2: Control Your Narrative Through Action, Not Reaction
Success is a decision made daily through disciplined action and unwavering commitment. When I released P*rp*se, I wasn't responding to critics—I was demonstrating evolution. Show people who you are through your work, your character, and your contributions. Let your accomplishments speak louder than your rebuttals.

Tip 3: Understand the Psychology of Projection
People who desperately want you to fight are often fighting themselves. Their anger reveals their internal struggles, not your failures. Empowerment isn't granted; it's seized—and part of that empowerment involves recognizing when someone else's chaos has nothing to do with you.

Tip 4: Implement the 48-Hour Rule
Before responding to any provocation, wait. Give yourself two full days to process the emotional impact and evaluate whether engagement serves your long-term interests. Most controversies that feel urgent in the moment dissolve into irrelevance within this timeframe. Patience isn't passivity—it's strategic wisdom.

Tip 5: Surround Yourself With Principled Counsel
Personal responsibility isn't a solo endeavor. Build a team of advisors who prioritize your growth over momentary validation. These individuals should challenge you when you're wrong and restrain you when you're right but poorly positioned to engage. Intellectual courage requires surrounding yourself with people who value your future more than your ego.

Freedom Requires Vigilance

The most dangerous form of oppression isn't external constraint—it's the internalized belief that your worth depends on winning every argument and defending against every accusation.

Patriotism isn't blind allegiance—it's a nuanced understanding of our complexities and an active commitment to continuous improvement. The same principle applies to personal development. Being the bigger person isn't about moral superiority; it's about refusing to be diminished by people who profit from your diminishment.

True empowerment begins when we stop asking what we're owed by our critics and start investing in our own capacity for growth and transformation. Victimhood is a choice. Dignity is a decision made daily through disciplined restraint and unwavering self-belief.

To My Fellow Public Figures and Leaders

Intellectual courage is our most potent weapon. The world will perpetually manufacture reasons to fight. They'll distort your words, misrepresent your intentions, and construct elaborate narratives designed to provoke your worst impulses.

Stay informed. Stay principled. And never compromise your long-term vision for momentary satisfaction.

The bigger person isn't the one who wins the argument—it's the one who recognizes that some battles aren't worth fighting. Meritocracy isn't a system of oppression—it's the most equitable framework for recognizing individual talent and potential. Let your results speak. Let your character demonstrate what your words never could.

When they want to fight, rise above. When they demand engagement, offer silence. When they expect you to break, show them what unshakeable conviction looks like.

That's not weakness. That's power.

- Mitchell+Deck