News Category: Breaking News
An Original Article by Anastasiya, News Team Contributor“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” ~ Maya Angelou Do you ever feel that being wrong is wrong?
As a young adult, I am constantly trying to figure out my identity and my beliefs and so is everyone else, I believe. While finding yourself is a very admirable goal, the path there seems to be very uncomfortable because it is made out of all the times I was wrong. At a time when fast-media is everywhere and someone is constantly telling me what is “right” and what I should think, it is easier to go along with whatever is said to be “right” than to research facts and form your own opinion. It is especially easy for young adults because many of us want to project the picture of perfection which is often means minimizing criticism, blame, and ridicule while maximizing acceptance in a group. Then, what does it mean when to be wrong, or make mistakes? For a lot of people, it means being defective, unworthy, less valuable. Of course, we would want to protect ourselves from that, right?Based on my experience Maya Angelou’s quotes perfectly sums up a more positive attitude towards being wrong. At some point that “wrong” thing was the best I knew, now I know and do better and that’s okay.
The first step of dealing with being wrong is accepting that it is right.
The second step of being wrong is to be “Gracefully Wrong.” Here is how:- Approach with compassion. Rather than beating ourselves up for being awful human beings, we should look upon ourselves with kindness and understanding. We need to appreciate that we grew from the time when we acted wrongly and that this experience taught us something new.
- Be openminded. “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind, there are very few”- Shunryu Suzuki. If we are not open to being better, we never will.
- Own it! Take the responsibility for being wrong and acknowledge it out loud.
- Be humble when you are right. If we put less pride into being right than being wrong won’t be that bad. Many of us heard the phrase “Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy?” and it’s important to keep the balance between the two. Maybe sometimes we shouldn’t let “being right” get in the way of being happy.
To conclude I would like to ask you this: What if being wrong didn’t mean being ashamed? What if being wrong didn’t have the judgment associated with it, what if being wrong was just as normal as being right?“Sometimes we make mistakes and sometimes we crush it and then there is everything in between.” ~ Meghan Breen
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