The Burden
How many times have you said “I was wrong about that”? If you’re anything like me, that phrase sits in a crawl space gathering dust.
But it is springtime and it may be time to inspect rarely used areas and give them a once-over.
We all carry a giant burden that we can lighten. It just takes a little noticing – a mental feather duster if you will. What’s the burden?
Well, if there is a God and he opines to the ethers, I’m certain this would be his lament: “Oh, the burden of always being right.”
Have you ever noticed the weight that attaches itself to being right? If, as they say, the camera adds 10 pounds, being right buckles our knees.
How often do you wait for your moment to say “I told you so”? While you sit waiting for the evidence of your prediction to mount, countless possibilities pass you by. Our investment in being right drains our creativity to find out what’s possible. That’s because we are continually focused on being right and we miss what’s on the other side of our blinders.
Being right is attempting to be God. I’m not suggesting we give up our opinions; I’m simply requesting that we remove the burden of being right from them.
It has an immediate effect. We become lighter. That’s because we don’t have to carry around all the evidence that being right requires. Being right is like keeping track of our lies. We have to remember all the things and circumstances that support our position. It’s like being on the witness stand every day of our life.
We are quick to point out our “rights” and slow on the draw to reveal our wrongs. Reminds me of a story . . .
My step-father used this expression quite often when looking to my mother for confirmation of his prognostications: “Didn’t I call that shot, Lil?”
There were a thousand shots that he took but he only touted the rare hit. We are all a bit like that when we burden ourselves with being right.
What the remedy? Take the right out of your opinions. Right is a deterrent because if you’re right, someone has to be wrong. No one likes being wrong, so when you hold right up in their face, you set the stage for them to be wrong.
Here’s a magic phrase to remove right from an opinion: “Time will tell.”
“Time will tell if that strategy will work or not.”
“I’m not sure that’s the best way to go, but time will tell.”
“I think this new band called ‘The Beatles’ will be a flash in the pan, but time will tell.” (I actually claimed to be right about this one).
When we remove right from our opinions, we open ourselves up to other possibilities – someone else’s right. We don’t have to defend an opinion; but notice that we have to bring out the big guns to protect right. That’s a lot of heavy lifting.
Do a little light housekeeping today and dust off the right from your opinions, and then feel the weight dissipate.
All the best,
John
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