TOD 10.24.07

“I may be wrong.” This is about the closest thing to a mantra I have. I don’t expect to be wrong. I don’t assume I’m wrong. And I don’t proceed as if I am wrong. But I always force myself to remember I may be wrong, and this cautionary undertone in my thinking yields many benefits.

I tend to take positions less dogmatically, which means there’s less ego cost when I need to admit error. I tend to be on the lookout for ideas I haven’t considered before, which makes it easier to listen when others disagree with me. But the best advantage is that I become wiser more quickly.

See, the guy who thinks he already knows everything sees little reason to keep looking and even less reason to consider the opinions of others. He discovers through seclusion only the reinforcement of his dogma. In contrast, I love finding errors in my thinking, because that’s the only way to become wiser. And, given my theological conviction that people are flawed, it would be odd for me to assume that the messed-up me would have mess-free beliefs.