Being ignored can be just as frustrating, if not more, than being taken advantage of. This technique works especially well for people who seek to embarrass you in front of others, like siblings, bullies at school, or coworkers who make jokes at your expense. Don’t let them boss you around.
If you have to see the person on a regular basis, plan out great stories to tell about yourself to illustrate how well you’re doing, how great your life is. If someone embarrassed you at work or school, talk about your great weekend out on the town with your huge crew of interesting friends, or the cool bike trip you took.
It can be tempting to get into a mud-slinging contest online, trading wall posts and having chat-style arguments in public. Try to avoid this as much as possible. That stuff doesn’t go away and there’s no point in getting sucked into a potentially embarrassing public argument with someone who’s not worth your time.
If you’re working on a group project in school and everyone’s making fun of your efforts, pull back and work on your own. When it comes time for the due date to roll around, let the teacher know your group decided to not back you up. If one of your siblings, roommates, or your partner criticized some of your efforts around the house, stop doing the laundry or the dishes altogether and let them know they’re more than welcome to take on the job themselves.
If someone borrowed your car and dented it or borrowed money and never paid you back, detail everything. Keep receipts, written promises, emails, etc. and write up your genuine memory of conversations and exchanges between you. Then go see a lawyer or the police and ask what your chances are of getting an arrest or taking an action for theft, embezzlement, vandalizing, stalking, conversion, or defamation. Always keep your revenge legal. If you want to exact revenge on someone, never cross the line. Vigilantes rightfully end up in jail and harming another isn’t going to solve anything. Stay within the law and within your own conscience too. Stealing someone’s mail may be thrilling in the moment, but it’s also a federal crime. Is that worth it? No.
Be careful. Being picky or nasty means you stoop to their level. It can also be tiring constantly observing them and finding ways to pick them apart. It’s likely that they’ll resort to doing the same too, so this can backfire and result in a circle of Hatfield-and-McCoy style revenges.
If someone tried to undermine you by spreading gossip about you that stopped your promotion, work harder than ever to get that promotion during the next quarter. Work hard and keep your distance from that person until management realizes it was just gossip and that you’re the real deal. Be the real deal in all situations.
If your enemy constantly brags about their accomplishments during group lunches, or during a particular class, beat them to the punch by taking control of the conversation. Don’t let them talk. If your enemy always likes to pull a Gwyneth Paltrow and play the holier-than-thou card, monitor every slip up and failure and subtly bring it to the forefront. When the anti-gluten environmentalist nutcase on your dorm floor ever uses a plastic cup, spring into action: “I guess it’s too hard to care about the Earth all the time. "
Remember that getting sucked into a tit-for-tat with someone will ultimately be more consuming than moving on and forgetting the matter. It’s playing THEIR game to get dirty, and you risk potential revenge-tactics in return from them. You’ve been warned.
Post their contact information in public places, maybe even making up ridiculous posters to hang around truck stop restrooms, bars, and other disreputable locations. They’ll have a good time fielding calls from weirdos.
Being ominous is okay, just don’t take it to the next level of creep. Don’t actually sleep in their yard or do anything illegal. Maybe write “Lucifer rises” on their windshield in lipstick, or pile stones in gothic-looking patterns on their front stoop. Make a super-creepy voodoo doll with a picture of their face on the top and leave it in their mailbox. Watch them look sleepy at work the next day from the nightmares you’re dishing out.
“A person is guilty of harassment in the first degree when he or she intentionally and repeatedly harasses another person by following such person in or about a public place or places or by engaging in a course of conduct or by repeatedly committing acts which places such person in reasonable fear of physical injury. “[5] X Research source
