So the modern world may be increasing in technological knowledge, but, paradoxically, it is making things a lot more unpredictable. - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Mother Nature has given us some defense mechanisms: as in Aesop’s fable, one of these is our ability to consider that the grapes we cannot (or did not) reach are sour. But an aggressively stoic prior disdain and rejection of the grapes is even more rewarding. Be aggressive; be the one to resign, if you have the guts.

an ad hominen attack against an intellectual, not against an idea, is highly flattering. It indicates that the person does not have anything intelligent to say about your message.

The gist: If you have the courage to put your intellectual integrity before your reputation, nothing can break you.