“Is this the hill you are willing to die on?”
As a passionate and often stubborn individual, this saying has helped me a lot over the years in personal and career situations. This phrase is used to determine if whatever circumstance or problem is worth standing my ground and possibly losing big! Is this a make-it-or-break-it for me?
Growing up, I remember hearing a country song by Aaron Tipton, “You’ve Got to Stand for Something,” and it always made me stand a little taller when I heard it. The lyrics, “You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything, You’ve got to be your own man not a puppet on a string,” were a charge to action. Standing up for what is right has always been ingrained in me. This deep sense of justice still screams within me when I see certain things.
The problem is you cannot stand on that hill for everything. You cannot feasibly do it because you will find yourself fighting everyone and maybe even yourself before long. Battles are meant to be won, right? Not exactly; you cannot win them all, and what have you lost when you lose the battle? It is necessary to choose your battles wisely.
How do you choose which battle is important enough to die for?
- How much do you value the relationships with those involved? Will standing your ground do permanent damage? If it does, will you be happy in the long run without that relationship? 2.
- Consider the 5×5 rule… “Will this matter in 5 years? If you decide to not address it, will it have a lasting impact in 5 years or more? If it won’t, don’t spend more than 5 minutes stressing out about it.” – author unknown
- Will standing on this hill willing to die help more than it will hurt?
If you can go through those questions and know you still have to stand that ground, then battle on! If any of those things bring up uncertainty, then sit on it a while longer or choose to give it up and let it pass. It is good to stand up but be willing to suffer the consequences.
As usual, these are just thoughts in flow.