One of the lessons I am trying to learn is that I don't have to win every argument - I can let others be right sometimes and be fine with that. In fact, I should be pleased that others around me have good thoughts and ideas, especially when I'm at a loss for what to do.
The habit of arguing came early in life... I remember my father encouraging me to speak up and give my opinion. Family is a democracy, he'd sometimes say... (Though it really isn't when children are young.) He enjoyed debating with me, trying to get me to think. The habit took root. I remember a high school history teacher's report card comment: Marlene is constructively argumentative. (My parents and I laughed at that one for years. The word "constructively" added such a positive spin!)
Arguing, like debating, can be a good way of making people think... But it can also develop the bad habit of having to win every argument, of having to be right all the time. That's the habit I'm trying to break because, the older I get the more I realize that nobody has all the answers. And - as the old saying goes - Two heads are better than one.
To help me along the way, I'm borrowing a phrase from Joyce Meyer: "I think I'm right - but I could be wrong..."
Not having to be right all the time takes a lot of weight off my shoulders!
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