"Letting Go" Part 3: Letting Go of Always Being Right
Welcome to Part 3 of my series on "Letting Go". Part 1 was written about Letting Go of Judgement while Part 2 was written about Letting Go of Worry. Here is Part 3 on Letting Go of Always Being Right.
I found it interesting when I first read about letting go of always being right. It's something I had never thought about before but really hit home and made sense when I was aware of how often we can "try" to be right. It can almost be amusing when you listen to people discuss things and how often humans fight just to be right! If you think about it for a moment, one of the highest prices we pay in life is the cost of being right. Some of us will sacrifice almost anything just in order to be the last one standing. It can be tiresome!Have you ever attempted to reason with a child who knows everything? It’s their way or no way at all. They simply cannot understand the concept of another person's point of view. Children go through a stage where they are extremely self-absorbed. Everything is 'mine' and they will not share. The world revolves around their desires and needs. This is a normal stage of childhood where the child is asserting their individuality and independence. The problem arises when this behavior is carried over into adulthood (hint: now would be a good time to sit back, grab a beverage and think about yourself and how you interact with others).
Most individuals who need to be right have little patience for others and seem to always be in a conflict. It's almost like they enjoy it... maybe this is another part of their Ego at work once again? A few things that may be common in individuals that suffer from always trying to be right are:
- They honestly believe that their ideas are the right way to do things and their viewpoints as the right way to think.
- A differing opinion is a direct affront to their sense of well-being and they become extremely aggressive in their defence of themselves.
- Simple meetings with people can turn into disaster (going to the store, talking on the phone with a stranger, etc).
- They can become angry and display a severe lack of empathy for others.
Luckily, as human beings we were given free will and the ability to choose for ourselves how we interact with others. I believe, the first step to understanding this is to try and catch yourself when you are trying to be right just for the sake of being right. I have found that this can be very helpful and may enlighten some of us who don't realize when we are trying to be right. I hope that my family members would recognize that I have tried to be right a lot less over the past year (I am working on it, I promise!) or so since this idea of Always Being Right has entered my life. I also try to remind others when I hear them discussing things with others that they don't have to be right and it almost immediately creates a feeling of freedom for them when they realize this. If anyone else has any suggestions on how to best let go of always being right, please feel free to share them below. Thank you and take care everyone!
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