#91 - Do you have to be right?
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I was in a business meeting this week when I was presented with ideas I wasn’t particularly fond of. As I pushed back on the recommendations that were being made, my business associate stood her ground. In an instant, I recognized that I was being too rigid in my thought process. She very wisely and diplomatically made the point that our future presentations needed to appeal to the broadest possible audience. My usual mindset and presentation style would have limited reception and may have actually turned people way from future seminars and from hiring me as a personal coach.
This was an important lesson for me not only from a business perspective but also for personal relationships. How many relationships have I been limiting because of my beliefs? How many relationships could I improve by being more open and accepting of others opinions even if I don’t agree with them?
One of the things I have found as I get older is that most of us become set in our ways. We are not necessarily open to new ideas or ways of doing or looking at things. Our myopic view can prevent us from connecting with others in a deep and meaningful way. How many times have we had disagreements with our significant other because we had to be right? How many times have we argued with family or friends because our way is the best way or because we know more than everyone else? We can surround ourselves with only the people that think like we do or we can be open to others with opinions different than ours. (It seems the latter provides us much more opportunity to get to know others including the one that could be our soul mate.)
Does any of this mean that we should compromise our values and core beliefs? Absolutely not! We still need to be true to our values, but we can be open to new ideas and ways of doing things. We can allow others to bring us new and unique ways of looking at the world. The older we (I) get, the harder this is to do though, because we (I) see the world only through our (my) eyes and personal experiences. The challenge for all of us is to be open to new ideas, new ways of looking at things and the possibility that ours is not the only way to get things done.
Okay. Now how do we apply this to relationships? Easy! It means being flexible especially with the little things. Example: Do you squeeze the tooth paste tube from the bottom or the middle? If your significant other does it differently than you, don’t argue about it; just buy a second tube and you can each squeeze it the way you like. This is a simple example of not having to be right. There are more serious examples that need discussion and compromise and those topics are for you to choose. Be open. Be flexible. It can make life much more interesting and fun.
What are things that have to be “your way” and what are things that you can or have compromised on? Let us know.
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