Last week we explored the topic of being wrong and why we are so afraid of it.
Now, let’s explore how to get more comfortable being wrong. Spoiler alert: it involves stripping!
If we strip down being wrong to its core, it often gets (wrongly) connected to knowledge and confidence.
We often tell ourselves, “Well, if I have immense knowledge, I can’t possibly be wrong!”
We often tell ourselves, “Being right is better than being wrong. Therefore, being wrong is a sign of weakness, and being right is a sign of strength, confidence.”
We may not say these things directly, but we seem quite bought into the principle.
But the argument we tell ourselves is incorrect.
If in fact we have high-confidence, high self-worth, we know there is so much to know about the world, the universe, randomized events, that we cannot possibly know it all.
We also fundamentally know that change takes risks and these risks inherently bring about errors and mistakes. Risk takers have courage. Changemakers take risks knowing some opportunities will work out and some will fail miserably.
(The entire venture capital model is rooted in this philosophy, and it took Thomas Edison 9,000 experiments to invent the light-bulb...)
Therefore, admitting to being wrong, admitting to mistakes, and learning from them actually takes more confidence and is a sign of even higher knowledge and self-appreciation.
One of the most confident people I know is actually one of the best people at asking questions, asking for more information when he doesn’t understand something, and seeking out new perspectives. He’s never afraid to say, “I don’t know.”
So, let’s get comfortable being wrong, it’s actually kind of liberating.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever“ - Gandhi
And if we get comfortable admitting we were wrong (wrong about assumptions, choices, decisions), it might just open us up to solve some of the pressing challenges that now face our world and future generations.
Grateful to have you here,
Zach