In the top 10 of things my kids will put on their list of Dad-isms when I’m gone:
Don’t die on that hill.
It started in rotation as a saying to my eldest as she hit her mid-teens. She fought us on nearly everything. She wanted things her way (as all teens do). And she would not let our refusal go. She would plant her flag and yell defiantly at the wind.
And we would tell her to stand down and learn to pick her battles. Because it was annoying to us and it was just going to exhaust her. Every fight isn’t worth fighting.
But some fights are.
Now, there are times to die on that hill. And for many, they don’t ever do it. It’s easier to just let life wash over them.
Go with the flow.
Don’t rock the boat.
But sometimes the boat needs to be flipped over. Sometimes you need to stand up and not take it anymore. But choose those battles thoughtfully; for things that really matter or really sit wrong with your soul.
Fight with discernment. Because if you fight everything you’ll just become noise, and if you never stand up you’ll give too much of yourself away just to keep the peace.
Neither is a way to a satisfied life.