High Road Principle

We go to a higher level when we treat others better than they treat us. If you’re slinging mud, you’re losing ground. There are really only three roads we can travel when it comes to dealing with others.

1. We can take the low road where we treat others worse than they treat us. 2. We can take the middle road where we treat others the same as they treat us. 3. Or we can take the high road and treat others better than they treat us.

The low road damages relationships and alienates others from us. The middle road may not drive people away from us, but it won’t attract them to us either; it is reactive rather than proactive and allows others to set the agenda for our lives. The high road helps to create positive relationships and attracts others to us; it sets a positive agenda with others that even negative people find difficult to undermine.

High roaders understand that it’s not what happens to you but what happens in you that really matters. Newscaster David Brinkley observed, “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” They commit to traveling the high road continually. Nearly anyone can be kind in the face of unkindness every once in a while: It’s more difficult to sustain a high road attitude all the time. High roaders recognize their own need for grace, and extend it to others. High roaders set higher standards for themselves than others would. They make excellence their goal. They care more than others think is wise. They risk more than others think is safe. They dream more than others think is practical. They expect more than others think is possible. And they work more than others think is necessary.

Soundview Executive Book Summaries John C. Maxwell "Winning with People"