Low agency people hate high agency people

High Agency, Responsibility, and the Illusion of Victimhood

Low agency people resent high agency individuals because their existence exposes an uncomfortable truth: low agency is often a choice, not merely an imposed circumstance.

We all encounter setbacks, frustrations, and genuine injustices in life. Yet, there’s an alluring comfort in attributing our unhappiness or lack of success entirely to external factors. Popular victim ideologies offer us neat scapegoats—“patriarchy,” “capitalism,” “genetics,” “trauma,” “race,” “society”—each conveniently becoming the “root cause” of all our problems. These ideologies aren’t wholly false; external forces genuinely impact our lives, shaping opportunities and imposing constraints. But obsessing exclusively over these externalities blinds us to the immense power we hold internally.

Consider this: every successful, fulfilled individual you’ve admired faced constraints. Some were born disadvantaged, struggled against societal biases, or navigated complex trauma. Yet, they overcame. How? They refused to anchor their identities entirely in victimhood. Instead, they took radical ownership of their circumstances, using personal agency as their primary tool for change.

The true root of persistent misery is rarely external challenges alone; it’s the decision to remain passive—to see oneself as a powerless victim rather than a capable agent. By externalising all blame, we surrender control, waiting passively for circumstances to change rather than actively pursuing improvement.

A far more effective strategy is to treat external problems—be they political, societal, economic, or personal—as immutable facts, as unchangeable as gravity itself. Acknowledge them, yes, but then immediately shift focus toward internal actions you can control. Develop strategies, build skills, foster meaningful connections, and create community resilience. When you take responsibility not just for yourself but for the welfare of those you care about, something profound occurs: you gradually create a life strong enough to withstand the very obstacles that once seemed insurmountable.

High-agency thinking isn’t merely optimism or naïveté; it’s strategic realism. It’s understanding that although external circumstances matter, internal responses matter even more. This mindset transforms obstacles into puzzles, limitations into creative constraints, and setbacks into valuable learning experiences. Over years—and often far sooner—you’ll notice your reality shift dramatically. Eventually, the external forces that once dominated your thinking cease to hold any significant influence.

The beauty of high agency and radical self-ownership is that it creates momentum. Responsibility breeds capability. Capability breeds confidence. Confidence breeds further action, fostering a self-sustaining cycle of growth and empowerment. Within a decade—or often even less—you and the community you build around yourself can exist as though the original problem never held power at all.

Ultimately, your agency is the most potent weapon against victimhood. By choosing responsibility and internal empowerment over blame and external helplessness, you reclaim your narrative, becoming not just resilient, but truly unstoppable.