Taking the high road: typically means that you should not let the behaviour of someone else negatively affect your behaviour; don't get dragged into a fight or petty behaviour, act according to your values.
I had a chance to do this last week, and I'm proud to say that I passed the test. It's not an easy thing to do, and I have to admit that I've probably passed up quite a few opportunities in the past to take the high road...but at least this time I acted according to my conscience. Some people will say that I'm a sucker, others that this shows weakness. I'm actually quite proud of myself.
So, you're probably saying to yourself: what is she talking about? What is she so proud of? Well, a few months ago I had some business dealings with an individual that left me feeling like he was, well, taking advantage of me. Not unusual in today's business environment, but I was left with a pretty bad taste in my mouth. I was under the impression that we were going to do business together and I am now quite convinced that he was under a totally different impression, even though he stated otherwise (I'm still not sure what he thought, but I don't put any energy towards thinking about it anymore).
Last week I was reading a book that had some information that I knew this person was looking for. He had specifically asked me if I had this information. I didn't at the time, but tucked the request away in case I came across something useful. And I finally did find the information last week. It took a few minutes to dawn on me that what I was reading would be really useful for this person.
So, what did I do? Did I tell myself in a self-satisfying way "ha, you see, if you had continued to work with me, you would have this info now!"? Or maybe send him an email saying "I've found the info you are looking for, why don't you pay me to summarize it for you"? Nope, I simply sent him an email with the title of the book, the author's name and other information that he could use to find the book.
What's so "high road" about this? Well, he needed info and I provided it. No expectations of a response, or a renewed interest in doing business, just an answer to a question. I know that someday this act will be rewarded. I do believe in the saying "What goes around, comes around." So today, if you happen to be in a situation where you could get dragged into behaviour that doesn't align with your values, remember to take the high road...you won't regret it!
Have a great week!
