About this quote

Standing up for your beliefs often creates pushback — that’s part of taking responsibility. When you act on what you believe is right, some people will react with anger or scorn. Ask yourself whether the thing you defended was worth the blowback, and if it was, own that choice and keep going. Learn how to explain your reasons more clearly rather than shrinking from conflict; unpopular does not automatically mean wrong.

When to use it

• At work: After I flagged a recurring safety risk and the project lead got angry, I told a colleague, 'You have enemies? Good,' to remind myself I did the right thing.
• Family: At a holiday dinner, relatives pressured me into a dishonest scheme and I quietly thought, 'You have enemies? Good,' before refusing to join.
• Town meeting: When I pushed for a tough policy and half the audience shouted at me, a friend mouthed, 'You have enemies? Good,' and it steadied me.
• Sports: As a coach, when I benched a star player for breaking team rules and some fans booed, I kept saying to myself, 'You have enemies? Good,' and stuck to the call.