Reverse Gear

I found myself in a discussion earlier this week, where I just knew I was right. It was one of those moments where I’m disconnected, not listening but thinking to myself, why don’t they get it? It’s obvious. How long will this take for them to hear me and see my side?

Then I stopped myself. You know how that goes, it’s like a time warp back to the present, suddenly my ears turn back on, and I start listening. I reminded myself to seek to understand, not to be right. 

Seek to understand, not to be right. 

As I listened, what I discovered was I wasn’t entirely right. Stopping self-righteous thoughts inside my head unclogged my ears and helped me understand the situation on a deeper level. To HEAR a different perspective. So I put my opinion in reverse gear, backed up and we made a much better decision together. 

That’s how the best that can be done happens. 

First, make sure your reverse gear is in good working order; then seek to understand, not to be right. Put those things together, and healthy collisions become breakthroughs, not breakdowns.

It’s incredible how much we can achieve if we stop trying to be right. Teams are built, relationships strengthened, solutions discovered. 

The Bible says: “Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.” We can’t find wisdom or understanding unless we are actively seeking it and allowing it in. Otherwise, you are already as wise as you will ever be.