37 Times People Won At Life Simply By Moving On And Living Exceptionally Well

Most of the personal stories in this collection concern people who were dumped in relationships or marriages. While it’s sometimes tempting to simply shut out the world and do nothing, this approach is actually completely unconstructive. And numerous expert opinions only confirm this.

In psychology, “revenge through personal growth” has its own scientific name: posttraumatic growth (PTG). A study published in Behavioral Health News shows that if a person doesn’t give in to resentment but works through it, it most often leads to positive changes in life.

Firstly, the person begins to value their own life more; secondly, subsequent relationships are often of higher quality. Personal mental strength, spiritual growth, and, accordingly, new development opportunities often manifest themselves.

Incidentally, statistics clearly show that women experience more PTG (with an average score of 72.64 versus 58.15 for men). So, it’s not surprising that most of the stories told here are told by ladies who rose like a phoenix from the ashes after some traumatic experience. Personal success in such cases is truly “perfect revenge” through resilience and self-improvement.

Well, if successful remarriage is considered a form of “personal revenge” after a painful breakup, statistics also emphasize that it works. According to GitNux, remarriage rates in the US and other developed countries have increased by almost 20% over the past decade. Meanwhile, another interesting nuance: higher income correlates with a 25% higher likelihood of remarriage.

Indeed, while ordinary, “traditional” revenge very often harms our mental health and reputation, focusing on personal success actually restores our balance and effectively returns us to control of our lives.

After all, this way we don’t waste our precious life energy on negativity, which is critically important. “Negativity breeds more negativity. Scornful people who publicly break trust and ‘air out their dirty laundry’ usually invite more backlash into their lives,” notes Joanne Broder, Ph.D., the author of this dedicated article for Psychology Today.

Incidentally, according to the author of the article herself, after a painful breakup, focusing on her own life, well-being, and achieving career success became a truly key healing factor for her. In fact, this has been true not only for her but for thousands of people around the world at different times.

Success stories amidst profound resentment actually take very different forms. Just think of the greatest football player of all time, Tom Brady, drafted 199th overall, or, say, former “Mr. Irrelevant” Brock Purdy, who has already played in the Super Bowl by now.

Or, for example, one of the best French soccer players ever, Antoine Griezmann, who, by the way, will be coming to MLS this summer. Due to poor health and a substandard frame, he was rejected by the youth teams of nearly all of France’s top clubs, so he had to begin his career in Spain.

But perhaps the most telling example here is Michael Jordan, for whom any resentment, even one he made up himself, could serve as a great motivator to achieve success. Yes, Jordan’s attitude toward his young teammates might be considered quite toxic today, but we must remember that he was always the most ruthless toward himself. That’s why he achieved such incredible success.

Frankly speaking, we do hope this collection of stories will not only be an interesting read for you, but also serve as inspiration and motivation for some to succeed in life after painful breakups or losses.

After all, as the famous song goes, "At the end of the storm there's a golden sky, and the swift silver song of a lark…" So please enjoy reading these tales, and maybe add your own in the comments below if you, too, have something to share.