What if we are wrong?
What if I’m wrong?
What if you’re wrong?
Why do we hold so tightly to what we believe is true?
Why do we find ourselves so offended when someone challenges our way of thinking?
Isn’t that interesting?
If someone says your racist…our immediate response is…NO I’M NOT!
If someone says that God isn’t real…I might be quick to say…YES HE IS!
Why do we not tend to stop and say…”why do they think that? Is there any truth to what they are saying?
Well, I’m on a mission to discover why….why you might ask?
Because I want to be better! I want to grow. I want to learn. I want to understand others.
I don’t want to find out one day in the future that there was so much more out there…
I don’t want to find out that I could have gone to much deeper depths as a person…
I don’t want to find out that I didn’t offer my children the true upbringing that was possible for them…
Because I simply couldn’t come to grips with the possibility that I could be wrong.
This blog isn’t political. This blog isn’t religious. This blog isn’t about social injustice.
This blog…is about the desire to grow!
This blog is about ME and YOU.
With all that being said…here’s what I’m learning about myself…
#1 – CONSIDERING AN OPINION OPPOSITE OF MY OWN IS UNCOMFORTABLE.
No one likes admitting that they are wrong. No one. Ask my wife about that…haha. She always apologizes first. And I need to get better!
Do you know why this is so hard? Because for most of us, our confidence comes from all the ways we think we are right. So when that comes into question…it throws us into a place of unrest, discomfort, and even some pain. It can even back us into a corner…
It creates a fight or flight mentality and sadly, most of us choose fight.
Here recently, I’ve been doing some serious soul searching…
I’ve been trying to think as if everything I’ve ever known could be wrong. It’s so scary to consider that…but it’s powerful at the same time.
And it’s allowing me to see things differently and from fresh perspectives and I’m grow even more passionate about others.
Question to ask yourself: But what if I’m wrong? (about anything)
#2 – THINKING DIFFERENTLY THAN I GREW UP THINKING IS SCARY.
As I get older and older (I’m 37 now), I realize how so much of what I believe is simply because my family believed that way. And depending on your family, you could perceive that as a good or a bad thing.
Yesterday, someone close to me showed distaste for my opinion and for the first time…I was now different.
For the first time, I felt the feeling of judgment from inside my circle.
Over the last few days, I’ve had to have hard conversations with myself about how far am I willing to take this newfound way of thinking? Is it worth upsetting people I care about? Is it worth potentially losing business from someone? Is it worth being looked at differently? Is it worth all the future days of being uncomfortable?
As I worked through these questions I realized why it’s so hard to consider someone else’s opinions…
Because if I agree with them…my world as I know it starts to change. I don’t like change (especially not worldview type of change). It could cause me to have to seek forgiveness. It could cause me to feel guilty. It could cause me to be stressed out…and I dislike all of those feelings.
And the thought of creating discomfort can lead many people to run back to their original way of thinking.
Question to ask yourself: But what if they are right too?
#3 – IN MY “OPEN-MINDEDNESS” I REALIZED HOW CLOSED-MINDED I REALLY WAS.
I’ve realized that for myself…
I’ve prided myself on how open-minded I have been in my life, but now I’m realizing it had to fit my current world view first.
It was a very twisted “open-mindedness.”
So, for some of you…
You’re open-minded if it comes from a conservative place…
You’re open-minded if it comes from a liberal place…
You’re willing to listen because someone you already like said it…
You’re willing to listen because of the person speaking looks like you…
You’re willing to listen if they are a Christian…
But to truly be open-minded, doesn’t it mean to digest thoughts and opinions that we don’t agree with?
I think I can all be guilty of instantly discrediting something because on the surface I am different and that’s uncomfortable…
Question to ask yourself: But what if I’ve written things off in the past without even listening first? Why did I do that?
#4 – I’M WORKING ON BEING A BETTER LISTENER AND CAST LESS JUDGMENT.
Guys, our world will never get better if we can’t listen to other people. It will be 100 years from now and everyone and everything will be the same! Actually…it will probably be worse!
I’m learning that it’s ok to listen to someone I disagree with and even after I listen I still disagree…but guess what?! I still improved that relationship because I chose to listen first. I didn’t just wait for my moment to pounce.
I believe that people want to be heard, not just agreed with.
Listen. Ask questions. Seek to understand.
It’s my hope and prayer that this blog will soften your heart. I pray that your mind will be open and willing to start listening to those around you. You don’t have to be like them, you don’t have to agree with them, just practice listening.
Thanks for listening. Let’s do our best to be BECOME THE BRIDGE and stop burning them.
