The need to be right can, at times, feel like a drug. Our culture often reinforces this need to be right all the time through the media, politics, and our education system. But what if you found out the reasons why you don’t need to be right all the time? Is knowing the potential consequences of needing to be right all the time enough to create space for letting the rest of the 7 billion people who you share the planet with also be right sometimes?

We have been working with a man and woman in couples counseling for the last few months. This particular client, the man, is a person who feels the need to be right all the time. Of course, he does not see it that way and will offer evidence to prove that he is right about not needing to be right all the time. I am very familiar with this particular character trait. I was raised in a family where my father and older brother were firmly entrenched in the belief that you need to be right all the time. It is no surprise that I, too, exhibited the same behavior traits. Shifting my mindset and subsequent behavior patterns has taken a very long time. This process began with awareness, meditation, guidance from trained professionals, and a deep willingness to let go of the need to be right all the time. I am so grateful that being right all the time is not a current attachment in my life!

7 Reasons You Don’t Need To Be Right All The Time

by Joan Moran

“Needing to be right comes with a heavy price. People who have to be right find themselves alone and isolated from groups of friends, colleagues or families. They hold on to their righteous ideology and opinions so tightly that no one can have a reasonable dialogue with them. A heavy shield descends over their exterior, which in turn reflects their inner need to never let go of the person they project to others. The need to be right becomes a crusade. Even though they might suffer emotionally, physically and intellectually, they would never notice the negative effects or debilitating psychic downward spiral. However hard they push their ideological agenda, these people fail to realize that they are more than the thought they are projecting.”

Read the rest of the 7 Reasons You Don’t Need To Be Right All The Time on MindBodyGreen

Shifting the need to be right all the time

Unfortunately, for any lasting shift to take hold, we have to identify the need to be right all the time. The ego, in its insidious nature, will justify our self-righteous thinking until we are confronted and challenged to see otherwise. The ego survives on a diet of feeling superior to others. Contrary to public belief, people with exaggerated egos rarely think highly of themselves. In fact, their ego needs to be inflated to feel adequate to others.

At the root of the ego conflict is a lack of humility. A lack of humility can be expressed by thinking you are better than others or less than others. Humility is accepting ourselves as we are, just the right size. Through humility, attachment to the need to be right all the time begins to lessen. As our relationships with friends, family, and coworkers improve, the need to be right all the time begins to evaporate. Acceptance and a sense of belonging we experience through these improved relationships create space for us to let go of the need to be right all the time and the self-righteous mindset that is critical to this vicious cycle. We begin letting others support us when needed; our guard slowly loses its rigidity. In short, we are comfortable enough with ourselves to allow others in. This is a beautiful process for anyone who has experienced it!

What do you think of the 7 Reasons You Don’t Need To Be Right All The Time?

I invite you to reflect on whether you are one of those people who needs to be right all the time. If you are, please reevaluate your ideology so you may enjoy more contentment, happiness, and peace. You will also be doing an incredible service to those in your life who are aching for you to let them in.

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