When I was growing up my Mom was constantly cautioning me not to cut off my nose to spite my face.
“I’m not going to the party if I have to wear those hideous shoes with the buckle that look just like the pair that Christopher Columbus was wearing when he discovered America.”
“Don’t cut your nose to spite your face,” she would say.
Guess what? The soles of those Christopher Columbus shoes never saw pavement.
“If I have to eat those brussel sprouts, then I just won’t eat the cake.”
“You’ll just be cutting off your nose to spite your face,” she warned.
I stood my ground – even when it meant foregoing Carvel ice cream cake with the chocolate crunchies.
Today I am faced with a much more consequential “nose cutting, face spite-ing” conundrum – one that involves my economic livelihood.
I am forced to decide whether the pursuit of justice is worth the financial risks.
If I’ve learned anything in recent years, it is that the just choice is not always the most lucrative one – or the most convenient one.
As I sit here pondering whether or not to risk the proverbial disfigurement of my face, I am reminded of the time in my life when I actually did cut off my nose.
I was 15 years old. I had rhinoplasty. The surgeon literally cut off half of my nose! Maybe even more than half.
And guess what? It was such an improvement that my face has yet to stop thanking me.
The moral is: cutting off your nose doesn’t always spite your face. Sometimes it perfects it.
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Rantings of a Stoic 