Diary Love Story: The Powerful Imaginary Enemy
He had once interviewed a girl who was among the top ten university students in the country. She was beautiful, intelligent, and graceful, and to him at the time, she seemed absolutely perfect.
Of course, he liked her, but he never dared to confess. After they got to know each other, they occasionally kept in touch, but he always seemed very awkward around her. He felt clumsy, outdated, and inept. He believed he wasn’t worthy of her. He was convinced that many others were pursuing her, and that each one of them was better than him. Although many people saw him as quite a decent guy, he couldn’t see it himself.
She graduated and started working for a newspaper. Once, they met at a discussion panel organized by a magazine. He noticed that she had become even more beautiful. After the meeting ended, she stood up, walked over to him, and suggested they go for a walk together. However, in his panic, he found a ridiculous excuse and quickly slipped away alone.
There were plenty of other chances for them to connect later on, but he never considered pursuing her. He always thought she was too outstanding, and that those pursuing her must be just as remarkable. He felt he had no advantage and thought it would be better to avoid rejection and unnecessary heartbreak by burying his admiration for her deep inside and quietly retreating.
As he grew older, he began to realize that she wasn’t some fairy or angel. No matter how exceptional she was, she was still just a regular woman with ordinary feelings. One day, he finally gathered the courage to ask her out to a bar. During their conversation, he asked, “Are you still single?” She calmly told him that two months ago, she had registered for marriage.
The sense of frustration and disappointment was inevitable. But he still believed that the man she chose must be better than him—more capable, more handsome, and must love her more.
One day, they met again. He was shocked to find that the man wasn’t nearly as “impressive” as he had imagined. The chubby guy in front of him was so ordinary, to the point of being almost disappointing. At that moment, he started to realize something: he had been scared away by his own “powerful imaginary enemy,” someone who didn’t even exist.
He felt the painful sting of having happiness stolen away.
But he also discovered that this man had something he lacked, something that could be called “unshakable confidence.” There wasn’t any overthinking, no hesitation. It was a natural self-assurance—true confidence in being a man. It turns out that confidence can make even the most ordinary person seem vibrant and remarkable.
Happiness can never be stolen by someone else unless you first strip yourself of the right to pursue it. We often think our goals are unattainable, always imagining that our rivals are towering and invincible, causing us to surrender early without even trying. In reality, almost all of your “imaginary enemies” are inferior to you. Your true enemy is always yourself—the cowardice and weakness hidden deep inside.
More often than not, this is how we miss out on success and happiness.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
