Rise Above

If there was one thing I remember all the way back to my childhood about my father was his ability to say only great things about people. We grew up as a family in the small quaint town of Clarion, PA where everyone knew everybody's business. Small town gossip is a constant there but my dad would rise above the pettiness of talking about other people's business. Of course as a teen I thought small talk was fun and something everyone did. Not Tony Banner. There were times when dad would sit me aside and tell me right from wrong and then there were the lessons that I learned from him simply leading by example. There are many instances I can think back through and remember when there would be a situation when a person would bring up conflict with me or someone in my family. Dad's reaction was never sudden; he always wanted to know more and dig a little deeper. He knew that there is always another side to the story and he would seek it out before pointing his finger at the person causing conflict.

Choosing to rise above and take on the challenge of confronting the people face to face instead of avoiding the situation built my character and only made those relationship stronger. Finding the good in people has led to many new friends that are still some of my best buds to this day. It has also completely changed my relationships with former bosses that I once struggled to understand. Generally, what I have learned from my experiences is that if you invest a little time with people, they will open up and turn out to be people full of depth. Those people that you go the extra mile for will end up being there when you need them most.

The challenge will be to see if you will take the easy way out in your next conflict with a person or will you be the one to shake their hand and get to know them. I promise you will not regret going the extra mile.