Wrong-ness
Recently, I was watching a TED-talk on whether schools kill creativity, and it got me thinking. Sir Ken Robinson pointed out that young kids aren't frightened about being wrong, and if you aren't prepared to be wrong, then you'll never come up with anything new. I don't think anything has described my thoughts so precisely; sure, being Right is great, but being wrong, embracing your wrong-ness, gets you further.
We live in a world that wants to see us fail. We live in a world that sees students do well, so makes exams harder, marks essays harsher, limits the number of individuals to achieve top grades. It's competitive. It's also easy to get caught up in. It's easy to get caught up in fear that you'll be mocked or shot down or shamed for being wrong; we are always seeking to be bettergreaterright-er.
I suppose that's why I find primary school environments so difficult to be in. Children are cruel to one another.I'm better and you're wrong and she's so bad at that. It's a learnt behaviour, though. In younger children who are encouraged to do their best, try their hardest, be themselves, the environment is less toxic. They accept being wrong as part of life. When we grow up? It's a different story.
In the space of a one hour and four minute class, I guarantee there are at least 4 cases of "You're wrong, I am right" battles between individuals in denial that they could ever be so awful as to be Wrong. And it makes me nauseous.
Whilst I was growing up, I was always taught not to lie, under any circumstances. That includes for the sake of remaining Right, as opposed to admitting Wrong-ness. To say the least, it's most definitely more respected than being one of "those" people who could neverever possibly be wrong. I know from personal experience.
When I fully accepted that yeah, sometimes (a lot of the time), I am wrong, life got easier. My pride isn't bruised because I did a question wrong, misinterpreted someone, got my facts mixed up. An "Oh, you're right, thank you for teaching me!" doesn't make me seek shelter in a cave. People do not sneer when I'm wrong. Or, if they do, I don't even hear nor care about it. Because we are all wrong from time to time, but it does not impact our worth as a person.
In "Burial at Thebes" (Heaney's translation of Antigone), Haemon says, "Nobody, Nobody can be sure they're always right" which is incredibly accurate. Funnily enough, the play is a tragedy and Creon, who fails to yield this advice and accept his Wrong-ness, is the one who ends up in despair, willing death, and admitting his idiocy.
The lesson? Be wrong. Cut the restraints of the pressure to always be right. People will like you more, and you may even find you learn to like yourself more.
We live in a world that wants to see us fail. We live in a world that sees students do well, so makes exams harder, marks essays harsher, limits the number of individuals to achieve top grades. It's competitive. It's also easy to get caught up in. It's easy to get caught up in fear that you'll be mocked or shot down or shamed for being wrong; we are always seeking to be bettergreaterright-er.
I suppose that's why I find primary school environments so difficult to be in. Children are cruel to one another.
In the space of a one hour and four minute class, I guarantee there are at least 4 cases of "You're wrong, I am right" battles between individuals in denial that they could ever be so awful as to be Wrong. And it makes me nauseous.
Whilst I was growing up, I was always taught not to lie, under any circumstances. That includes for the sake of remaining Right, as opposed to admitting Wrong-ness. To say the least, it's most definitely more respected than being one of "those" people who could neverever possibly be wrong. I know from personal experience.
When I fully accepted that yeah, sometimes (a lot of the time), I am wrong, life got easier. My pride isn't bruised because I did a question wrong, misinterpreted someone, got my facts mixed up. An "Oh, you're right, thank you for teaching me!" doesn't make me seek shelter in a cave. People do not sneer when I'm wrong. Or, if they do, I don't even hear nor care about it. Because we are all wrong from time to time, but it does not impact our worth as a person.
In "Burial at Thebes" (Heaney's translation of Antigone), Haemon says, "Nobody, Nobody can be sure they're always right" which is incredibly accurate. Funnily enough, the play is a tragedy and Creon, who fails to yield this advice and accept his Wrong-ness, is the one who ends up in despair, willing death, and admitting his idiocy.
The lesson? Be wrong. Cut the restraints of the pressure to always be right. People will like you more, and you may even find you learn to like yourself more.
Take care.
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