Even though the relationship ended on a bad note, civility in how you act is in order.

This doesn’t mean that you have to stop and talk to your ex.

The best approach if you see or run into your ex in public is to give him a quick and friendly smile acknowledging him, and keep going about your day.

It isn’t prudent to stop and force a conversation with him, or slow down to see whether he wants to have a conversation with you.

Keep in mind that regardless of how bad the relationship ended, it has ended.

There is no point relitigating the relationship in public.

No, this isn’t where you get closure or clarity over how everything went down.

That time has passed.

Maintain civility if you see or run into your ex in public, but keep moving about your business.

As human beings we have a tendency to want revenge when we believe we have been wronged.

If you believe that your ex wronged you, there is chance that you are tempted to not be so kind toward him.

This is where you see your ex in public and ignore him, or give him a scowl.

Don’t do this.

All it does is send the message to him that you haven’t gotten over him and continue to be upset over the breakup.

It is true that reacting like this is exhilarating, but that exhilaration doesn’t last long.

A few hours later, you are back to feeling lousy over the breakup.

Now that you saw him in public, the old questions about how the relationship went down besiege your thoughts.

Next thing you know, you are talking to your friends about him.

You are looking him up on social media to see what he has been up to, and curious to see whether he has a new girlfriend.

A negative reaction to an ex has a habit of backfiring, or coming back at a person like a boomerang.

Before you know it, you are spending the entire week looking him up all over the internet and talking about him to anyone and everyone.

This doesn’t help you, especially if you had been working to heal from the bad breakup prior to this.

It puts you behind.

All that work you were doing to get over the breakup and move forward with your life evaporates.

You are back to being that girl who was heartbroken by the breakup and feeling like you were done wrong.

This is how powerful one moment of weakness is.

One moment where you saw your ex in public or ran into him and chose to be mean by ignoring him or scowling at him.

It sets you back.

Furthermore, in knowing that you continue to be upset with him over the breakup, you give him the impression that you haven’t moved on from him.

This makes him feel empowered.

To know that you are hung up on him soothes him.

It isn’t certain that he has faired that much better than you since the breakup.

For all you know, he has struggled to find a suitable replacement for you in a girlfriend.

By being mean towards him, it makes him feel that much better in knowing that you are caught up on him emotionally and haven’t moved on.

Don’t give him this lifeline.

Rather, be polite, acknowledge him with a smile, and keep moving along.

It isn’t smart to stop and talk to him for any length of time.

In the event he attempts to stop you to have a conversation, politely let him know that there is somewhere you have to be and wish him a good day.

This keeps the moment polite, but saves you from having to talk to him for any length of time.

Talking to him is a ticket to opening old wounds and you don’t have time for that.