Allow somebody to think they are right when you know they are wrong.

Right and wrong is a matter of perception.

What one person may consider an absolute wrong might not be wrong at all to another person.

The practice of morality is dependent on the subjective morality of the individual practitioner.

As long as morality is processed individually, there you have a relative who is constantly asserting his point of view, even when you know he’s dead wrong.

He may either try to wear you down with his arguments or tell you in front of everyone else how you should live your life.

It’s a yes and no answer. We all have a sense of what is fair and the jury system is built on the assumption that the average person has that sense; put 12 together and hopefully you remove personal prejudices. That is the yes part but it leads to the no part.

We all see things from our personal experiences and they can distort our judgement. So in any individual case we could be right or wrong, even with good intentions. In a collective consideration we have a much better chance of getting it right.

If you put the welfare of others first, you are much less likely to go wrong.

• When someone is really passionate about a subject (religion, political view, social habit, sport, etc.) and is unwilling to listen to the slightest contradiction. Let them get on with it.
• When you keep arguing your point and they argue you back with irrelevant points or nonsense.
• When the subject has nothing to do with you and you don’t have the details. You could be wrong in thinking you are right.
• When someone clearly worked very long and hard on something and it’s obvious there are minor/inconsequential faults. There is no need to point them out and spoil the person’s joy.
• When someone is really angry and upset. If they are venting and not doing anyone harms, let them say whatever makes them feel good. There is no need to argue with them, at least not in that moment.
• When, it’s unimportant and while dealing with your boss or whoever is paying your wages.
• When it keeps the peace, or when you want to put an end to an argument.
• If it makes a child happy, let them enjoy the experience.
• When your parent or significant other believes they are right and the subject matter is trivial and not worth arguing over, it is best to drop it rather than jeopardize the relationship.
• When you desperately want to achieve something, and you need another person’s cooperation. Give them the freedom to say and think what they want (within reason of course).
• On receiving a gift and it was something the person thought you’d really like. Unless there’s a serious issue with keeping it, there really is no need to tell them how wrong they were.

In a nutshell, it’s okay to allow somebody to think they are right if you know they are wrong when there’s clearly no need to turn something into a big deal. Discernment is required.

Is it a wise person who always insists they are right?

No, my friend.

The wise person will admit to their mistakes and own them. The wise will take accountability for their misdoings, and be prepared to accept others’ misgivings at the error of judgement made. Essentially, they will carry the can for their own actions.

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate.    

Thank you …I don’t know anyone who can place their hand on their heart and honestly state they’ve never made a mistake. It’s impossible - life’s a journey - a process of evolution and learning from our errors.

I guess perhaps some people may be of the opinion that if they admit to making mistakes it shows weakness.

I would argue that admitting to one’s mistakes demonstrates strength.

My one strength is that I am always honest. An honest person will always own their own mistakes, and never seek to blame others for these.

Why would I wish to blame others when the errors have been of my making? It beats me - no good can ever come from a lack of honesty with others. Never!

People I guess, sometimes fail to see this illustrates transparency. The person is “seen” - warts and all. The wise person has not attempted to hide behind a deceitful illusion or entered into “denial” mode.

It is normally in the professional setting where I have seen others refuse to own up to mistakes made.

I have seen people try to pass the buck to the innocents,

I have seen innocent people blamed for professional errors.

I have no time for people who do that.

It doesn’t bode for a good person in the long run - a good person will never pass blame onto another for their own wrongdoings. It is callous and illustrates a total lack of integrity.

Want to add word or two?

Whether it is personal or professional, I believe sometimes other people in time actually gain a little respect for the person unafraid to say, “I screwed up, I got it wrong.”

Write the consequences of both sides. Understand the implications correctly.

Have a thorough clarity of all the aspects of both the choices. It is important to understand that decisions in life are based on the given information.

Hence, if you take time to understand the implications and give it a thought, you are more likely to make the correct choice.

Your comment ….?

Facing one’s errors is the first step towards becoming a far more honorable person.

Humans are fallible, so, no we cannot be sure that we know absolutely what is right and what is wrong.

Whatever rules we maintain are always subject to interpretation, it's unavoidable. So, humility is humankind’s absolute necessity.

There is only one way we can know whether we’re making the right decision.

It is by trusting ourselves (our intuition/ gut feeling, our knowledge/ data, our values and our priorities).

I think it’s very important that we understand the difference between knowing whether we’re making the right decision (we can’t know the outcome so we have to find a different way to evaluate our move) and knowing whether we made the right decision (when we tend to judge our actions based on the outcomes they produce).

The question is not How will I know that I made the right decision? (looking back on the situation), but How will I know that I’m making the right decision? (while making it).

This distinction is super important because analyzing things looking back on them is usually not the same as pondering our move at the very time when we’re making this move.

Don't worry. Take satisfaction in the fact that you did the best you could do at the given point in time. With a benefit of hindsight, everybody can say if a decision was right or wrong - but that's meaningless because making a decision is about at the moment of deciding.

You have a friend who is constantly asserting his point of view, even when you know he’s dead wrong. He may either try to wear you down with his arguments or tell you in front of everyone else how you should live your life.

You’re thinking of changing your hairstyle, and he insists that you really need to go short even though you want to keep your long locks as part of your total look.

He proceeds to explain to you, in the most minute and annoying level of detail, that you really would be better off by getting rid of the six inches you’ve taken so long to grow.

How can you handle this situation without losing your temper, but still maintain your own position?