Most of us believe in our opinions with conviction as we should. However, we need to accept that they are, after all, opinions and not facts. So why is it that we all feel so strongly that our thoughts and ideas are 100 percent right?
Wanting always to be right is concerning because it stops us from learning. When we are so convinced that our way of thinking is the only way, it hinders our willingness to remain open, listen and learn from others. We must practice accepting other people’s ideas and knowledge of what is true, which isn’t the same as agreeing with them.
Where do our opinions come from anyway?
Our environment, personal experience, and nurture or lack of exposure to certain things in life mould our perception, opinions from an early age. Someone who has had to struggle in the past to make ends meet will have a different view than someone who hasn’t had the same experience, for example.
One experience is not more correct than the other. Therefore, we should remain open to listening to how others’ opinions have been formed. This will allow for a more accepting world where we can express empathy.
When we become open to the way others see things, we understand one another better. We may even find ourselves changing our opinion, which can lead us to taking a stand and defending one another without going through the same circumstances ourselves.
Before we dismiss others’ opinions, we need to stop and open our minds. We need to ask more questions and listen more. We need to be more accepting of each other because we are more the same than different.
Why do people feel that they have a need to be right?
When your mouth is talking, and you are not listening, you are not learning as much as you could be. Just because something is important to me doesn’t mean I am right. I can argue my side and should have the opportunity to explain where my opinion comes from so that I am understood, but that is very different from believing that my opinion is the only one that matters.
Instead, we could say, I prefer this, or I see things in this way. Don’t force your thinking on someone else, and remember that accepting is not agreeing. Continue to voice your opinions and thoughts on how you see things, respect one another’s experiences, beliefs and opinions, for we can all learn from one another.