Be Right, or Be Happy, You Decide

15. November 2008 by Patricia.

I was driving a 5 year old-grandson to our house for a weekend visit, when I asked him if he would like to be a scientist when he grew up. His response: “No way! I’m not going to get up in the middle of the night to catch bugs… that’s what scientists do!” So I asked him if that was all scientists did.. Yep! I checked it out with him again. He was immovable. Didn’t scientists invent things I asked? Didn’t they build rockets or help with new medicines for sick people or explain our world? No! He wasn’t having any of it. The scientist’s only role was to get up in the middle of the night to catch bugs, and he wasn’t going to be a scientist.. end of story!

It wasn’t so much that this little five year old had an incorrect view of what a scientist does that struck me, but it was the tenacious and unyielding way he held on to being right about it. Does this sound familiar? It definitely rang a bell for me in a number of ways.

The need to be “right” consumes an enormous amount of energy. It is a very static stance. There is no room for movement or growth. What can happen if this changes? When people believed the earth was the center of the Universe, at least one person was willing to see it differently, and our view of the world changed dramatically.

Needing to be right keeps us closed, fixed and rigid. In fifty plus years of living on this planet, I have found that a need to be right isn’t going to get me anywhere that I want to go. Giving up that need helps me stay open to an expanded version of myself and the world. How do you see this? Does letting go of being right leave the door open for more happiness, joy and peace?

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