You won’t always be right, you know. No matter how hard you may try – there will be times that you ‘simply didn’t get it right’. And, being an A or B or whatever personality type has nothing to do with this state – we all want to be right! While we especially aren’t enamored of being ‘not right’, we heartily dislike being ‘wrong’. And yes, these two are not the same. Bottom line is that the only true difference is in how we express and handle not being right because it is somewhat inevitable that at some point we won’t be right. (In some ways always being right and having the last word are related.)
Wanting to be right is probably a good attitude but when we aren’t, our behavior is really what’s important. The not being right times, though they may be uncomfortable or embarrassing, are the times of some of our best lessons. And… I’ve learned that it isn’t a grievous sin if I don’t always get it right, if I have to be corrected. Actually the truth is that it’s far more important to be open to correction rather than to fight or ignore it. While the latter two accomplish little and really are counter-productive, when we engage in those behaviors, what we hope (being right) is rarely what we accomplish. Many times we only wastes a lot of time.
When you look at what you do and say when you aren’t ‘right’, do you fight this or attempt to ignore? And the advantage to this is….? Remember, it really is OK not to always be right. It rarely is an ‘end of the world’, life or death situation. So why do we fight for ‘our position’ even when we know the other might be a better answer? My first thought would be – Pride. Our perception of … us. If we admit we could be in error and/or ‘surrender’ our position, will this now be the perception by others of everything we say and believe – who we are?
My opinion is that those who seriously consider every possible response to (fill in the blank) are more secure in what they believe. When a different position is offered and they respond with questions rather than dismissal, they often reinforce their position in the minds of others. The best ‘answer’ should be what is sought, not the person offering the response. When we put the accent on the wrong sy-llab-le then we may be defeating the success.
