It’s Wrong To Be Right
Being right is based upon knowledge and experience and is often provable. Knowledge comes from the past, so it’s safe. It is also out of date. It’s the opposite of originality.
Experience is built from solutions to old situations and problems. The old situations are probably different from the present ones so that old solutions will have to be bent to fit new problems (and possibly fit badly). Also, the likelihood is that, if you’ve got the experience, you’ll probably use it.
This is lazy. Experience is the opposite of being creative.
If you can prove you are right, you’re set in concrete. You cannot move with the times or with other people. Being right is also boring. Your mind is closed. You are not open to new ideas. You are rooted in your own rightness. Arrogance is a valuable tool, but only if very sparingly.
It’s Right To Be Wrong
Start being wrong and suddenly anything is possible. You’re no longer trying to be infallible. You’re in the unknown. There’s no way of knowing what can happen, but there’s more chance of it being amazing than if you try to be right.
Of course, being wrong is a risk. People worry about suggesting stupid ideas because of what others will think. You will have been in meetings where new thinking has been called for, at your original suggestion. Instead of saying, ‘That’s the kind of suggestion that leads us to a novel solution’, the room goes quiet, they look up to the ceiling, roll their eyes, and return to the original discussion.
Risks are a measure of people. People who won’t take them are trying to preserve what they have. People who do take them often end up having more. Some risks have a future, and some people call them wrong. But being right may be like walking backwards proving where you’ve been.
Being wrong isn’t in the future, or the past. Being wrong isn’t anywhere but being here. It’s the best place to be.
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.”
-Albert Einstein
“In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.”
-Matt Morris
“Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.”
-Babe Ruth
