--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’ve had many enemies over the years. If…" description: "\"I’ve had many enemies over the years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s never engage in a fight you’re sure to lose. On the other hand, never let..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17d/anonymous-1_enemy_i-ve-had-many-enemies-over-the-years-if_2182725.jpg" --- # I’ve had many enemies over the years. If there’s one thing… ![“I’ve had many enemies over the years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s never engage in a fight you’re sure to lose. On the other hand, never let anyone who has insulted you get away with it. Bide your time and strike back when you’re in a position of strength—even if you no longer need to…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17d/anonymous-1_enemy_i-ve-had-many-enemies-over-the-years-if_2182725.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17d/anonymous-1_enemy_i-ve-had-many-enemies-over-the-years-if_2182725.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17d/anonymous-1_enemy_i-ve-had-many-enemies-over-the-years-if_2182725.jpg) > “I’ve had many enemies over the years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s never engage in a fight you’re sure to lose. On the other hand, never let anyone who has insulted you get away with it. Bide your time and strike back when you’re in a position of strength—even if you no longer need to strike back.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoid futile conflicts and seek strategic advantage; also defend dignity when possible. **In simple terms:** Don’t fight losing battles; retaliate only when strong. Key Takeaway Choose battles wisely and protect self‑respect. Themes strategy conflict self‑respect patience Mood determined cautious Type advice strategic When to use this quote - workplace disputes - personal relationships - legal negotiations - online harassment Key Concepts power dynamics revenge self‑preservation Questions to Reflect On - When is it better to let go than to strike back? - How can you protect dignity without violence? A Different Perspective Retaliation can escalate conflict and damage reputation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Engage Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engage-fight-4722283/) [Fight Sure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-sure-2150382/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Get away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get-away/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [I've learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-ve-learned/) [Insulted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insulted/) [Insulted Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insulted-away-4722284/) [Let Insulted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-insulted-4722285/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive/) [Strike back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strike-back/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Things i've learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-i-ve-learned/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Ve Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ve-enemies-835870/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Women have an extraordinary ability to withdraw from the sexual relationship, to immunize themselves against it, in such a way that their men can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/women-have-an-extraordinary-ability-to-withdraw-from-the-sexual/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Any coward can fight a battle when he's sure of winning; but give me the man who has the pluck to fight when he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/any-coward-can-fight-a-battle-when-he-s-sure-of-winning-but-give-me/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What coward would not fight when he is sure of victory?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-sibbes/what-coward-would-not-fight-when-he-is-sure-of-victory/) [Richard Sibbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-sibbes/) > [I refuse nothing less than knocking out Tony Ferguson if that fight gets made. 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And we always will be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-susan-griffith/we-ve-always-been-enemies-flay-and-we-always-will-be/) [Clay Susan Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-susan-griffith/) > [There are a lot of French actresses who just hate me now. I've made enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-laurent/there-are-a-lot-of-french-actresses-who-just-hate-me-now-i-ve-made/) [Melanie Laurent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-laurent/) > [Voldemort himself created his worst enemy, just as tyrants everywhere do! Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/voldemort-himself-created-his-worst-enemy-just-as-tyrants-everywhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-brackett/surrender-is-a-perfectly-acceptable-alternative-in-extreme/) [Leigh Brackett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-brackett/) > [Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/affleck-was-the-bomb-in-phantoms/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [Take a young man from Gaza living in the most horrendous conditions - most of it imposed by Israel - who straps dynamite around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/take-a-young-man-from-gaza-living-in-the-most-horrendous-conditions/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [“An authentic and genuine life grows like a sturdy tree. And like a tree, it grows slowly. Every time you make a different and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/an-authentic-and-genuine-life-grows-like-a-sturdy-tree-and-like-a/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [What do you think you're doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-aaronovitch/what-do-you-think-you-re-doing/) [Ben Aaronovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-aaronovitch/) > [When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should - so hard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/when-we-are-struck-at-without-a-reason-we-should-strike-back-again/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. 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I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Enemy quotes > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Fear is a man's worst enemy, but love is a man's most powerful weapon against anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-a-man-s-worst-enemy-but-love-is-a-man-s-most-powerful-weapon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... 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Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. 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Everything else is rubbish!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/in-this-business-you-find-the-enemy-then-go-after-and-destroy-him/) [Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) [Browse all 7,981 Enemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I’ve had many enemies over the years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s never engage in a fight you’re sure to lose. On the other hand, never let anyone who has insulted you get away with it. 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