Does ‘being right’ have consequences?

Katie Coombs thinks so. She recently wrote a column in my local paper entitled “I’d rather not be right.”

Katie feels that by if you choose to always ‘be right,’ then you risk the relationships that you have.  She commented that she would rather live in a world where people can make mistakes, learn and compromise. We have the same hope for our worlds. I like that.

All of this got me to thinking about another risk of ‘being right’ that recently happened to me. I was so sure about something that I made a mental prediction (to myself) and guess what … I was totally wrong!!

It made me realize that the perception that I was right, completely prevented me from thinking about other options … because after all, I was RIGHT, right? So my mind was closed off to any other alternatives.

Next time, I’m so convinced I’m right, perhaps allowing my mind to remain open, may help me to embrace other people’s ideas and be more creative about whatever the issue is.

After all, if in the end, it turns out that I really was right, I won’t have lost anything. And perhaps gained a whole lot more!

Jeanette