A young MP was being shown around Parliament by Winston Churchill.
As he wandered through the halls and the offices, he asked questions about how the building was put together. Churchill obliged and gave the young man advice on how this world worked.
Upon entering the House of Commons Chamber, Churchill's new friend started referring to the MPs on the other benches as "the enemy."
Churchill reportedly said "That's the opposition, dear boy. The enemy is behind you."
I love this story. I love it because I think it represents how we often see our relationship with the world. We presume that the world is out to get us. That it's a malign force with malevolent intent which will crush us by seeking out our weakness the second it can.
This makes for a good motivational story. In fact I've nodded my head as David Goggins said this exact thing to me. And maybe it's figuratively true, but it's literally false.
The world doesn't care about you. It doesn't even recognise your existence.
First off, "the world" isn't a thing, the actual environment out there is LITERALLY indifferent to your existence. Secondly, the actors who inhabit the environment are all so caught up in their own lives that they can't be bothered to even consider you.
"We would care far less about what other people thought about us if we realised how rarely they do."
Sometimes you become collateral damage as a byproduct of other people's plans, but genuine ENEMIES essentially don't exist for almost anyone.
The individual who is able to create a bespoke curse for you is not out there in the world. They live inside your head. You know your weaknesses, your fears and where your shame and guilt lies. And your inner voice continues to pick at those scabs. You chastise yourself for falling short even when you tried your best.
The only person acting as an enemy to you, is you. I think this is a liberating realisation because it puts the power back in our hands. The world is indeed an opposition which needs cajoling and negotiating with and navigating around.
The enemy is behind you. The world's not out to get you.