“Go in love or stay in peace.”

A former boss told me that once. She said the worst decision people make is staying somewhere and hating everybody the whole time.

And listen… that’s bad.

But I think there might be one worse.

Leaving and still hating.

Love or peace. That’s the choice.

The other day I was talking with a colleague who had turned down a client. Smart decision. Clear decision. But she was still mad as hell that the organization wasn’t different.

And I get it. I really do.

But it reminded me of an analogy I heard recently that crystallized the whole thing for me.

Ever see an old antique car sitting outside in the elements?

No tarp. Rust creeping in day by day. Tires half flat. Paint fading.

You ask the owner about it.

“Are you planning to fix it up?”

“No.”

“Would you consider selling it?”

“No.”

They not fixing it.

They not selling it.

They just letting it sit there… breaking down.

And if somebody else offers to buy it so they can restore it, polish it up, and ride by with the windows down, horn honking, smiling like they just won the lottery?

Oh now that they can’t stand.

Some people would rather watch the thing deteriorate than see somebody else bring it back to life.

Now stay with me.

Because that’s exactly what it can feel like to sit in spaces where you’re not wanted.

Jobs.

Churches.

Organizations.

Sometimes whole cities.

Just sitting there in the elements. Rust creeping in a little bit more every year.

And the real tragedy is not the rust.

It’s forgetting what you are.

Because if you’re the car in this story, you’re not junk sitting in somebody’s yard.

You’re a classic.

A fine specimen. Something worth restoring, appreciating, and driving with joy.

And sometimes the healthiest decision isn’t convincing somebody to finally value you.

Sometimes the healthiest decision is remembering the advice.

Go in love or stay in peace.

Because empathy is hard to practice when you’re fighting an internal hate war.

You can’t pour compassion into the world if resentment is taking up all the space in your chest.

So love or peace.

Pick one.

Just don’t stay at war.

Dr. Nicole Price

Empathy Revolutionary