Ever had an adversary or a rival who always keeps you on your toes?
A rival is at least competitive - he pushes you to think outside the possible, to attempt for what is beyond reach at the moment.
An adversary is an even greater hazard - because not only will he try and push you down, he's willing to go to any lengths to see you lose the proverbial cherry. And when he tries to fulfil his role without any benefit to himself, or even at his own expense, you know you have an issue to settle then.
There is an old adage - keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. ( Or was it The Godfather from where I got the quote? :| ) As it turns out your greatest rivals are the ones who are similar minded to you, might even be close to you. What about your greatest adversary? He can be anyone with a grudge, or just a pure psychopath.
I'll just describe in a few words, my biggest rival, and my worst adversary.
My rival is one of my closest friends. He forces me to out-think him, outdo him, outsmart him. He makes sure I do not waste a single moment NOT strategising my next moves. He forces me to look at the bigger picture, because it's in the bigger picture that you can also see the minor details to be ironed out by your actions now. My rival is not only smart and successful, he's got a hell of an ego, too. Dangerous? Maybe. But as long as it pushes ME on to break my own limitations, beyond my self-made boundaries, beyond MY bog of self-doubt, I'll be close to him. The one thing that eats me is - I realized only a few hours ago, that he's my biggest rival.
My adversary knows he's one, too. I am, indeed, fortunate to know such a psycho. Not only does he badmouth me in public, he actually spends his time looking for minor flaws in my work and character. He's the worst type of backstabber, and a degenerate one at that. Without doubt the biggest traitor one can know is the who knows the most about you that can help HIM. My work ethic states that I give him the cold shoulder as much as possible, and I certainly do so. But after a certain point, you HAVE to rethink your outlook. Do you keep changing yourself and your character so as to escape his vile commentary? or do you stay true to your integrity and morals? Do you indulge in a campaign similar to his and engage him at the warfront? Try and beat him at his own game?
They say revenge is a dish best served cold. The scars on my timeline reveal the affect this one adversary has had on my life. Whatever his credits, my ultimate aim is and will, forver be, to bring him down. Like the crisis Bruce Wayne faces in the recent Dark Knight, it is upto me, to decide. Whether to let myself be brought down to their level so that I can engage in a similar war, or be Gotham's White Knight and go by the book.
