No, REALLY, you be the bigger person.

My least favorite line people drop in arguments is the “I’ll just be the bigger person” line, or some variation of this.

I’ll be the bigger person this time.

Don’t worry, I’ll just deal with it.

I’ll take the high road.

Any of these sound familiar?

BREAKING NEWS. Saying “I’ll be the bigger person here” does not, in fact, make you the bigger person. And when you do say it out loud, you automatically have stopped “being the bigger person.”

You want to know why? If you really are going to be the bigger person, YOU DON’T NEED TO SAY SO. You just do it. Because when you do say it out loud, it just sounds immature and condescending.

And hearing any variation of this immediately puts me (and the rest of the world) on the defensive. Because if you’re the one taking the high road, what does that leave me, the low road?

“I’ll be the bigger person” has friends too. Their names are “You should know what you did ” and “I’M FINE, NOTHING IS WRONG.”

Which makes one tripod that I have no desire to make into a quadrapod.

So, no, REALLY, go ahead, you be the bigger person.

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