Avoid the Antithesis
Antithesis can best be described as a direct opposite; of a person, thing, or concept.
There is an old saying that birds of a feather flock together. Well, you never see eagles flying with pigeons because pigeons can’t fly that high. The little birds that may happen to go to the heights of the eagle only use the eagle’s wings to boost their trajectory.
Whether you are an entrepreneur, in your career, a student, or just trying to achieve your life goals. It is imperative that you stay away from the antithesis of such things as, intelligence, diligence, cleanliness, control of self, and happiness.
The Opposite of Intelligent
They have a saying "If you're the smartest person in the room. Find a different rule." This is because nobody wants you to be the smartest person in the room. Especially when they are the complete of an intelligent person.
You will be amazed how using your brain affects stupid people. Symptoms may include disrupting you, belittling you, and trying to make YOU look like the stupidest person in the room. There is another saying, "never stoop to a dumb person’s level because they'll beat you with experience every time."
The Opposite of Diligent
My mother had a saying, "There's two types of people in the world. People who get up to go to work every day and people who watch people go to work every day." Meaning they would rather watch other people work and reap the benefits of someone else’s hard work. It does not matter if you work on your business, degree, skills, physical fitness, or goals. A lazy person will find a way to use your hard work for themselves. If you hang around lazy people, they will encourage you to be lazy, to avoid the comparison of a hardworking person.
The Opposite of Clean
They say cleanliness is next to Godliness. “Clean” does not always mean physically clean. It can be your reputation, your criminal record, or your mind. Being "clean" is like being a blank canvas to a "dirty" individual, something to sully and taint. They will spoil your opportunities, they will tarnish your reputation, they will taint your perception of what is "clean." These individuals will be the devil on your shoulder whispering for you to go against your better judgement. If being pristine is Godly why hang out with a filthy devil?
The Opposite of Self Control
You are the captain of your boat. You are the driver of your boat. You are the avatar of your life. You are supposed to be in control of the things you can control. You have your finances in control, you control your temper, you control your weight… you know how to control yourself. Why be around people who lack self-control? They cannot control their spending. They cannot control their bad habits. They cannot control what they say. They cannot even control their weight!
Ironically, they want to control you. Through that control, they live vicariously through you, if not directly. This may be the overbearing parent, the controlling boyfriend/girlfriend, the wimpy sucker, or even the lame manager. These types of individuals are narcissists or sociopaths. To avoid the antithesis of self-control, control your ability to get away, to avoid becoming a puppet on strings.
The Opposite of Joy
Joy is deep and steady sense of well-being with misery being at the other end of the spectrum. Misery is a deep state of physical, mental, or spiritual wretchedness. In deeper terms it means to be away from God. Misery loves company, plain and simple. Miserable individuals almost have the mindset of a sadist. They are unhappy, they want you to be unhappy, and it makes them happy that you are unhappy. If they do not have goals, your goals must be ruined. If their relationship sucks, your relationship needs to suck as well. If their salary is not good, they will find a way to get you fired. If they have a pot belly, you cannot have a six pack, in fact you now have incurable STDs to offset your physical fitness. If their social skills suck, they will find a way to make people not talk to you. These people might be closer to the Anti-Christ than they are to antithesis of joy. It is imperative to avoid these types at all costs!