[As a preface, this piece assumes the rules of justice are commonly agreed upon and in place. That people are free from force and fraud as a matter of justice, principle, and integrity. These ideas are meant to build creativity within, and are not meant to give a way to violate that premise.]

“I would never die for one of my beliefs. I may be wrong [about it].”—George Bernard Shaw

“I am not interested in being right. I care about finding out whether I am or not.” –Albert Einstein

What Einstein and Shaw were both saying was that they would rather be accurate than be “right”.

Have you ever had a friend who thought they remembered something a certain way while you remembered it differently? Have you ever had a friend willing to argue with you about this very discrepancy? Have you ever done the same? While some may be eager to tell you how you are wrong, still others are willing to say “you may be right…but I remember it thus…”. Oh, what a difference a few words can make.

And it is that difference that makes the difference. It is that difference that can create ease, or foster dissonance. Generate grace, or create tension. Resolve differences or create new ones out of thin air.

Some would rather be right than be accurate. That is to say that they are constantly looking for evidence that their positions are “right”—buttressing their opinions in the face of contradictory information. This shows up in a range of behaviors from eco-terrorists violently attacking companies based on junk science to others ignoring the evidence of man-accelerated climate change. From those blaming intolerance for incompetence on racism whenever they can to the Bush Administration only listening to views that supported the existence of Saddam Hussein’s WMD programs and the call for the invasion of Iraq. From someone judging an acquaintance on limited information when their own self-esteem issues are triggered by them to having a fixed perspective on someone without direct personal experience with them. On both sides of the aisle—both ends of the spectrum—equally distasteful manifestations of this mind-set can arise.

At the same time, others would rather be accurate than be “right”. That is to say they are constantly taking in new information to verify their interpretations—and in fact working constantly to update them—having far less identification with them. They know they are not their opinions or views. They have their views. However, their views do not have them. These people are far more enjoyable to engage in political dialogue, they are truly intellectually curious.

Let us briefly examine both mindsets.

As usual, self-esteem plays an important role. As well as attachment. As well as ego—the antitheses of true self-esteem.

If one is interested in being “right”—they have their ego wrapped up in whether they are right or not—they are then deeply identified with their perceptions as an extension of themselves—then you can expect them to defend their positions as a matter of “honor”. They will be “up in arms” doing so. What follows may be a rather distasteful display of emotion in support of their belief, perception, etc. And, as a useful side note, you can always calibrate yours or another’s attachment to their view by whether or not they have a sense of humor around it. A sense of humor is a signal to a fluid perspective.

If one [you] are interested in accuracy, then they will be open, curious, have a lack of attachment to their views. They will be constantly working to verify their interpretations of the events in the world around them—of the people around them. This person will inevitably have high[er] esteem for the self, as it is only from this place that one can relax into the not-knowing that is required for fluidity around one’s perceptions.

What if one [you] in their self-reflexive moments notice that they are being attached to their view as “right” being blind to new information that may correct their accuracy?

What to do? As usual, the answer is to witness it, and then choose another path. Build the muscle of a lack of identification with your views. Build the muscle of witnessing. As it is from this place of pure witnessing that your spiritual path may lie ahead of you—quite clearly. Enjoy the view…and then step down and begin to walk the path. One. Step. At. A. Time.

Beliefs, emotions, inter-personal dynamics