The great superpower of admitting that you were wrong
I was misinformed
I was biased
I did not face reality
These are legitimate reasons why it's imperative for you to admit that you were wrong. Frankly, the first step to course-correct is admitting that you got it wrong - whatever you might have gotten wrong.
The best people in your life are probably those who can admit that they were wrong. In fact this is how you know they are good people - they are more concerned with truth than stroking their ego in trying to prove that they are right.
You are not what you think
“There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind - you are the one who hears it.” — Michael A. Singer
You are not your opinions! Here are two proofs I've gathered.
Proof 1
It is the things around you that shape how you initially see the world. Firstly, according to Dr Holland, your opinions are the result of the interaction between your:
physical environment
parental interaction
hereditary and personal factors
cultural influences.
Proof 2
Secondly, your genetics play a big role in how you initially think. Pretty much 50% of who you are is because of your genes.
Below is a behavioural genetics table by Robert Plomin on his genetic research on how much our genes affect us. Look at the second-to-last trait called “general intelligence” and look at the results of its genetic research. 50%! 50% of your reasoning capability comes from your parents! What does this mean? It means that there are alot of genetic restrictions that are placed on you even before you step in the field of play. Don't be so hard on yourself!
So do you see that you were actually not wrong; YOUR IDEAS WERE WRONG!
It's the thoughts that you choose to use you
The two proofs above show that you will, at some point in your life, have thoughts that are incorrect. It’s the ones that you let use you which determines your direction overtime. Here is an article I wrote on how to let good thoughts use you.
Read more: How to let ideas use you. More money in your pocket
We are judged by our deeds and not our opinions.
It therefore makes sense to never feel obligated to defend your thoughts and opinions because they are not you! You are only possessing them for a short period of time until something new and truer comes along.
Admit that you were wrong
The reason why it's difficult to course correct is because it's hard to admit that we’re wrong. Its hard to climb up a mountain, only to find that you climbed the wrong mountain and have to start again. For example; many women stay in toxic and abusive relationships because they are “afraid” to start again. It's hard to admit that “I had a blind spot and I was led by emotions”. The first step to correcting this, in my opinion, is “I made a mistake”.
Luckily for us, life frequently helps us take care of this difficulty by giving us difficult circumstances - sickness, failure, embarrassment, death in family, heartbreak - anything that will force us to admit our errors and force us to change something.
You can get past bad decisions - the first decision to recovery is to admit that they were bad decisions. Even Christianity believes in “admitting sin” as the first step to getting closer to God.
Now that you've admitted, it's easy to course-correct
If you can't admit that you are wrong you are at the worst disadvantage because you can't change course.
Everyone is moving - whether it's to one’s benefit or not. We are all course correcting and zigzagging to a particular destination. The hallmark of getting to the destination is constant course correcting which requires constant introspection, absolute honesty and truth. See graph below.
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