We all make mistakes, but not everyone can admit when they do, and that’s a problem. If you always insist on being right even when you’re clearly not, your relationships will suffer and it won’t be long before everyone loses. Here’s why your unwillingness to admit when you’ve messed up is seriously holding you back.
1. You’re not seeing other people’s views.
If you’re so focused on why you’re right and the other person’s wrong, you’re not acknowledging the fact that there are other perspectives besides your own, all of which deserve to be heard and respected. You’re basically invalidating them, shutting them down, and pushing them away. Is that really how you want to live?
2. You’re stuck in your ways.
You might think you know the reasons why you’re right and your partner is wrong, but is that really true? What if they can also be right? Yes, two things can be correct simultaneously! Don’t be so stuck in your ways that it’s trapping you in outdated ways of thinking. Sometimes there is no right or wrong, there are just differing opinions and views that are totally valid!
3. You’re brushing off their feelings.
If you always think you’re right, you’re only focused on your feelings. You’re blocking out how a situation might be affecting other people, which is upsetting. Your friends or partner will feel like you’re not being empathetic and that you don’t care about them. Otherwise, you’d want to hear them out, wouldn’t you?
4. You’re being led by your ego.
You might be fighting to be right because you’re too proud to feel defeated. The problem is that you’re allowing your ego to lead you in life, which means you’re not open to any self-growth in your relationships. You have to be willing to humble yourself if you want to evolve.
5. You’re bringing drama to relationships.
It’s easy for stubbornness during an argument with someone to escalate when you don’t push aside the need to be right about everything. Why do you need the drama? It’s so off-putting and people around you aren’t going to stand for it. Sometimes you have to pick your battles and agree to disagree.
6. You’re wrecking people’s trust in you.
If you’re always right, people who love you can start to feel like they can’t trust you. You’re not only hurting them, but you’re not opening your mind. They might feel they can’t rely on what you say or think because it’s not based on reality. As a result, they might pull away entirely.
7. You don’t care about saving the relationship.
Being right shouldn’t be your main focus in your relationships. What about compromise? Sometimes you’ve got to give something for the greater good of your relationship. If you never do that, you’re basically saying the relationship and the person you’re in it with don’t matter to you.
8. You’re not listening to other people.
You can’t really listen to others and what they want if you’re quick to shut them down because you feel like you’re right. You might as well block your ears and sing “la, la, la!” It’s quite petty, and you’re missing out on tons of information from them, some of which might be really important.
9. You refuse to learn new things.
In relationships, you can learn a lot by sharing opinions and ideas with each other. You’re losing out on this opportunity if you refuse to learn from the people in your life. You think your ideas and ways are the best, but that basically means you don’t want to learn and grow from your relationships.
10. You’re not taking responsibility for your actions.
You can’t take responsibility for things you’ve done wrong if you refuse to admit that you ever are. This means you don’t take accountability and you’re pushing the blame onto those around you. This is an incredibly immature way to live and it robs you of the chance to improve in the future.
11. You never apologize.
One of the worst consequences of wanting to be right all the time is that you never say you’re sorry. You don’t see that you’re wrong, so you don’t feel the need to make amends or even express regret for hurting another person. Although you don’t have to apologize for things you haven’t done, you can’t be completely innocent every single time.
12. You’re pushing people away by being a know-it-all.
If you’re always right, then you’re coming across as a know-it-all — and that’s super annoying for the people around you. They might feel like you’re trying to make them feel insecure or inferior, and it makes it tough for them to talk to you. Conversations are supposed to be a two-way street. If it’s all your way or the highway, people will be looking for the nearest exit in no time.
13. You’re being condescending.
If you think you’re always right, that means you think everyone else is always wrong, and that’s extremely patronizing. As a result, you end up belittling the people around you by insisting that you’re the only one who can see things clearly and understand them completely. Wow, that’s rude.
14. You’re always criticizing people.
If you’re obsessed with always being right, you might find that you start criticizing everyone around you, especially if they tell you that you’re wrong. You become defensive easily and are quick to point out everyone else’s shortcomings without ever recognizing or admitting your own. Unsurprisingly, it’s causing greater conflict in your relationships.
15. You try to dominate people.
People might try to argue with you to make you see that you’re not right, and that can make you flip. To deal with it, you might resort to trying to dominate other people. Control freak, much? If someone tells you that you’re wrong, you interrupt them and list all the reasons why you’re right and make it clear that your perspective is the only one worth listening to. It’s so draining!
16. You’re lying to yourself.
One of the dangers of striving to be right all the time is that you might start being less than honest with yourself about your own behavior. You don’t want to see yourself as less than perfect, so you try to reframe situations to always come out as the best. It goes without saying that this will turn you into a pretty insufferable person.
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