Being the bigger person doesn't mean becoming the weaker person.
In Day 37 of Just a Thought... w/ Junior, Junior challenges one of those pieces of advice many of us in Generation X have heard our entire lives:
“Just be the bigger person.”
Sometimes that's wisdom. Walking away from unnecessary conflict, controlling your emotions, and refusing to participate in foolishness can require tremendous strength.
But there's another side to it.
What happens when people begin interpreting your maturity as permission to disrespect you?
When keeping the peace means constantly swallowing your feelings, tolerating bad behavior, accepting disrespect, or allowing someone to repeatedly cross your boundaries, you may not be protecting your peace anymore.
You may be sacrificing yourself to maintain theirs.
Self-Mastery isn't about reacting emotionally to every offense. But it also isn't about making yourself smaller so everybody else can remain comfortable.
There are moments when being the bigger person means walking away.
There are also moments when it means standing up, speaking clearly, enforcing the boundary, and allowing somebody to experience the consequences of how they chose to treat you.
You can have emotional control without becoming passive.
You can show grace without surrendering your standards.
And you can be mature without volunteering to be mistreated.
Generation X, maybe the question isn't always:
“How can I be the bigger person?”
Maybe sometimes it's:
“Why does being the bigger person always require me to become smaller?”
It's simply a thought.
Raise The Standard™
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