49 Going on 50 Mentoring Tip #11: COURSE CORRECT QUICKLY XX

There are a lot of things more important than being right -- being happy high among them. Better to admit early that you've made a mistake or would do something differently, so that you can get the results you actually want sooner, than to be defensive and self-righteous when you're wrong or want different results than the ones that you're getting. 

Admitting that you're wrong and/or being open to others' perspectives leads to conversations and understandings that you can't achieve when your heels are dug in. People respect you more when you 'fess up to your errors. And it leaves space for them to be human as well, which in turn creates more space for your humanity.

 

FIX THIS ONE from here on in

 

My big course correction was quitting my corporate gigs. When I think about the difference between who I am now vs. who I would have become had I stayed, I am humbled by the difference. In the words of Langston Hughes, writing "life for me ain't been no crystal stair," but I'm very happy with a really wonderful existence. Had I continued to invest in climbing the corporate ladder just because I couldn't answer all of the questions about how I would support myself, pay my health insurance, get a pension and so on, I might -- okay, probably would -- have more money than I have now, but I would also be angry, depressed, miserable, and probably have a stress-related illness or chronic disease, which I don't have now. Thank the Lord!