I’m Wrong Quite Often
If you’re married, then you might relate to this joke. A wife was asked how she knew when her husband was wrong. She replied, “His lips are moving.”
As someone who’s been married for quite some time, I can relate to this. I often feel as if my wife Jane asks my opinion on something…just so she can confirm going in the opposite direction. It could be an outfit she’s trying on, the color of a paint for the house, or ideas for kitchen remodeling. It seems that whatever I like she goes in the opposite direction. I did overcome this once using reverse psychology.
As I reflected on this, and what’s transpired over the last few years, I have to admit; I’m wrong quite often. It’s not easy to admit when you’re wrong, but it can be very freeing. Here are a handful of times when I was flat out wrong.
- As I watched the NFL playoffs on Sunday and saw the Cincinnati Bengals defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, I was reminded that early in the season the Bengals were the only team in their division I thought had no chance at making the playoffs. Now they’re going to the Super Bowl. Wrong!
- Early on in the pandemic I mistakenly believed Covid would be nothing more than a very severe year of flu deaths. Boy was I wrong!
- When the pandemic hit, I thought realtors would be in for a world of hurt. After all, who would commit to a 15 or 30-year mortgage not knowing if they would have a job given the state of the world? Wrong again!
- I thought many other sales, for example automobiles, would go down the tubes because people would be afraid to spend their saivings with an uncertain future. Wrong once again.
- Seeing so many people hold out on going back to work, I assumed there would be an influx of workers when PPE payments stopped late last year. I never anticipated how many people would voluntarily retire from the labor force. Yes, I was wrong.
I don’t think I would be incorrect to guess many of you reading this were wrong on a lot of things too when it came to the pandemic and its impact on our lives.
But, something I’ve learned when it comes to persuasion is this; when you admit weakness, or times when you’re wrong, you gain credibility as someone who is honest. Done the right way, this can even lead to better odds of influencing people.
I do believe most of us are probably wrong, or not 100% correct, on far more than we realize during the course of any given day. It doesn’t make us deficient; it means we’re human. I liken it to stepping on a scale that’s wrong but whether it’s 5lbs too heavy or 5lbs too light, if you step on the same scale every day you will get a gauge as to whether or not your weight is going up, down, or staying the same. In other words, even when we’re wrong so often, we figure out how to make life work.
As I wrote earlier, it’s freeing to be able to admit that you don’t have all the answers and that sometimes you’re just wrong. If you need more examples of when I was wrong, just sit down with my wife for 10 or 15 minutes and she’ll gladly add to this list.
Brian Ahearn, CPCU, CTM, CPT, CMCT
Brian Ahearn is the Chief Influence Officer at Influence PEOPLE. An author, TEDx speaker, international trainer, coach, and consultant, he’s one of only a dozen people in the world personally trained by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., the most cited living social psychologist on the science of ethical influence.
Brian’s first book, Influence PEOPLE, was named one of the 100 Best Influence Books of All Time by BookAuthority. His follow-up, Persuasive Selling for Relationship Driven Insurance Agents, was an Amazon new release bestseller. His new business parable, The Influencer: Secrets to Success and Happiness, is now available.
Brian’s LinkedIn courses on persuasive selling and coaching have been viewed by more than 400,000 people around the world.
I like your comment that, ” even when we are wrong so often we figure out how to make like work” Very true!
If we didn’t make it work we wouldn’t be here. ; )
Thanks for commenting Pete.