Earlier today, while driving my car, a moment developed which, in its most colourful camouflage, is best entitled “road rage”. Normally I do not react to such encounter. But today I did. Nothing serious (I honked my horn at the perceived culprit). But it’s more than I should have done (the horn blast may have lingered a trifle). And now I am here to crawl, to expiate my guilt.
I think you will agree, dear Reader, that on balance life is good. Yet there occur at times the occasion and mandate to “rise above it”.
To “rise above” means to not let something negative (like problems, criticism, or emotions) affect your behavior or upset you, demonstrating resilience, self-control, and a higher moral or mental standard than the situation itself, essentially overcoming or transcending difficulties. It implies moving beyond pettiness or hardship and choosing a more elevated, composed response, often focusing on values or goals rather than getting dragged down.
Books (and songs) have been written about the subject. If I were asked – from the vantage of my esteemed age and worldliness – to give one recommendation to a young person, it would be this, learn to rise above it. The advice hasn’t the exactitude of financial independence or eduction, health and fitness, career and networking, habits and lifestyle, relationships and social life; but it does address succinctly the following important considerations:
3. Personal Development & Mindset
- Take Radical Responsibility: Nobody is coming to save you. If you don’t like your life, it is your responsibility to change it.
- Build Self-Discipline: Discipline beats motivation. Structure your days and build routines.
- Embrace Discomfort: Seek out challenges and take risks. Stepping out of your comfort zone is how you grow.
- Be Humble: Realize that your ego can be your biggest enemy. Stay curious and open to learning, even if you feel successful.
- Define Your Own Rules: Develop your own code of conduct, values, and ethics rather than following society’s, parents’, or peers’ rules.
As easy as it is to assert, either to oneself or to others, “rise above it”, it is nonetheless a fatiguing transition especially in the moment of perturbance. What I like about the counsel is that it inherently focuses upon the singular problem and immediately distances one from the fray. Confrontation is avoided. Analysis is diluted and thus entirely redundant. The target is to remove oneself from the perimeter of the pitfall, not to argue a manifesto for logical precision. It isn’t a debate or any other enterprise to validate one’s intended (though perhaps initially misconstrued) holy grail. Note too that the direction enables one to escape liability of any degree by isolating one from that superfluous contemplation. Technically there are no winners. Neither are there losers.
It would be deceitful of me to overlook one further element of the puritanical advice; that is, the feature of arrogance. Without attribution, rising above it enables one effectively to snap one’s finger at the dispute. Dismissing what, on analysis, may have been an intentional arrogation or insult has the perceived unwitting effect of looking down one’s nose at the failed assault. As an additional rebuttal, one may further consider pretending not to have noticed any violation in the first place – the ultimate pooh-poohing of the conduct (while at the same time having the advantage of adding to its footling nature). I recall the associated memorable advice of Louis de la Chesnaye Audette QC OC, “It is the privilege of the masses to mock their betters!”
As a purely practical suggestion, “rise above it” succeeds to isolate oneself from repeated contamination, going back and forth with those inner conflicts and wasteful preoccupation.
Rise Above It
Song by I Prevail 2029
I’ve been patiently waiting, tying my stomach in knotsI’ve been lost in the moment, going to war with my thoughtsAnd if you’re feeling the pressure, the pressure’s all that I gotSo if you think that you’re ready, I’m here to tell you you’re notThe time is right now, yeah, you’re in over your headI’m calling lights out, until it’s over and deadAnd I’ll be damned if I ever let you get me againYeah, I will stop at nothing cause I was made to rise above it
Cause one of these days, one of these days everyone will knowBut for now, I stand alone
I count my enemies like trophiesI wear my scars so they can show me nowI’ve got nothing left to proveSo when I look at you, all I see are trophies, trophiesI’m not afraid to put it all on the line like it runs in my veinsI will stop at nothing cause I was made to rise above it
Yeah, I was made to rise above itI will stop at nothing cause I was made to
I don’t want no handouts, know I earned it (earned it)Member shows when nobody came, well, that pissed me off, I stayed working (working)Locked inside of in my room, losing some sleep, writing versesThey told me I’m nothing, I heard ’emThey want me to fall off, I’m laughing, got records like nothing, I feel like a surgeonY’all went out on the weekend, I make hits while you drinkingTurn a dream to a lifestyle, six figures ain’t even peak yetThey hate me, they want me to dieCame up from nothing, the numbers don’t lieYou cannot stop me, so don’t even tryI rise above it, owe this all to God, yeah
Cause one of these days, one of these days, everyone will knowBut for now, I stand alone
I count my enemies like trophiesI wear my scars so they can show me nowI’ve got nothing left to proveSo when I look at you, all I see are trophies, trophiesI’m not afraid to put it all on the line like it runs in my veinsI will stop at nothing cause I was made to rise above it
Yeah, I was made to rise above itI will stop at nothing cause I was made to rise above it
Songwriters: Brian Burkheiser / Stephen Menoian / Richard Vanlerberghe / Tyler Smyth
Rise Above It lyrics © Menoian Publishing, Burkheiser Publishing, Richard Vanlerberghe