"譲歩する者は、最後に自分を食べることを望みながら、ワニに餌をやる人です。"

Trying to placate a dangerous situation or a hostile person by giving in to their demands doesn't solve the problem—it only postpones it. Think about dealing with a bully. If you keep giving them your lunch money hoping they'll leave you alone, you might buy yourself a few days of peace. But sooner or later, they'll be back for more. And each time you give in, they grow bolder and more demanding.

Winston Churchill said this back in the turbulent times leading up to World War II. Britain, and much of Europe, was dealing with the looming threat of Nazi Germany. Some leaders thought they could avoid conflict by making concessions to Hitler, essentially hoping he'd be satisfied with a bit of territory here and there. Churchill, with his keen understanding of ruthless ambition, knew that such a strategy was doomed to fail. Appeasement, he warned, was like feeding a crocodile in the hopes it might not eat you—but in the end, you'd still wind up in its jaws.

Consider this real-life example: Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister before WWII, famously returned from Germany with a piece of paper, declaring "peace for our time" after negotiating the Munich Agreement. He believed he had secured a stable and lasting peace by conceding the Sudetenland to Hitler. Yet, within a year, Hitler had gobbled up the rest of Czechoslovakia and set his sights on Poland, clearly undeterred by the concessions. The appeasement didn't work. It only emboldened the aggressor.

So, what's the takeaway here? If you face a situation where someone is making unreasonable demands or acting aggressively, placating them might give you temporary relief. But, it's not a long-term solution. Stand your ground respectfully but firmly. Set boundaries and be prepared to defend them.

Imagine you're at work, and a colleague keeps dumping their tasks on you because you don't push back. At first, you might think, "It's just this one time; I'll help them out." But then it happens again. And again. Before you know it, you're doing double the work, stressing out, and they're skating by. If you had set clear boundaries from the start, politely but firmly refusing to take on their tasks, you could have avoided all that extra stress.

Or think about a personal relationship where one person always gives in to avoid conflict. Initially, it might seem like a way to keep the peace. But over time, resentment builds, and the relationship suffers because the appeaser's needs and feelings are continually ignored. Open, honest communication from the start—however uncomfortable—can prevent this kind of dynamic from taking root.

So next time you find yourself in a tense situation, remember Churchill's words. By not feeding the crocodile, you deny it the power to control you. Stand firm, communicate clearly, and assert your boundaries. In the long run, you'll find that you're not just surviving—you're thriving.