52. But I Was 100% Positive I Was Right!

The sentences we BELIEVE are powerful, even if they're WRONG.  In this episode, Coach Mimi shares a personal experience of being 100% wrong even though she was 100% positive she was right.  

Use this experience to become more aware in your own life.

For more help from Coach Mimi visit the website: thegoodguycorner.com

Transcript

Hey guys, I want to tell you something that happened today because it's a great example of how powerful our minds are even when they’re 100% wrong, like I was.  

So here’s what happened: school is starting next week and my two youngest boys, a high school senior and freshman, were at the school to pick up their ID badges and other stuff in preparation for school to start.

And I got a text from the freshman that said, “I can’t get my stuff because they say I’m not registered as a student yet.”   

And I immediately think to myself, “Whaaat?  Yes he is registered. I know I did it…and here’s how I know...”    

And I started to review in my mind the process: I received an email with the link to register two weeks ago and I know I got right to it because the older son needed to sign up for a parking space the next day and he had to be registered before he could do that.  So for sure I did it.  And I’m also positive I did it because the process is a pain in the neck and very memorable.  There were 23 different online forms that need to be looked over and signed.  There’s no question I did it.  As I went through that mental process I became even more sure, I know I did it.

So I called him and reassured him that yes he is registered, I know I did it, so go back to the desk and ask them to look again. Maybe they looked at the wrong name or something.

Then I got another text from him a few minutes later, “Nope, I’m not registered. Are you sure you did it?”

Wait, what?  Is that possible? 

And then I started thinking about it differently, with some curiosity this time.  For sure I had done one but had I done both?  Was it possible I did one and not the other? 

...and that’s when it dawned on me.  Oh, wait.  Now I remember…I got interrupted after doing the first one.  I told myself I’d do the second one later and it would go fast because I had already done the first one and wouldn’t have to read everything this time.  But I didn’t decide on when “later” would be and I hadn’t gotten back to it.

SOOO…the school was correct, my son was correct.  I had indeed NOT registered him.  Huh…I was totally wrong.  Wow!  Even when I was 100% positive that I was right, I was still wrong.

So here’s what I really want you to take away from this. The power of the thought, “I know I did it.” That was a powerful thought that kept me from seeing the truth.  It only allowed me to see the evidence that supported it.  

It wasn’t until I had some curiosity from thinking, “Is it possible that I only did one?” that I was able to see different evidence, and uncover the truth.

See the powerful difference between “I know I did it” and “Is it possible?”  That’s the key right there.  The powerful difference in those sentences.

Also…a side note. I realized in this process that the sentence, “Huh, I was wrong.” is a very helpful one.  It invited me to just be present with myself.  I was wrong but I wasn’t beating myself up for being wrong. Before I had the coaching tools that I have now and the awareness that I have, I would have really been beating myself up about this situation. And I'm not. I'm curious about it and a little humored by it and I’m using it as a learning experience for next time.   

I want to have the kind of self-awareness that when I think I'm so sure I’m right but yet someone else is questioning it, maybe, just maybe I'm actually not correct.  Like let's just take a breath and let's check. Is it possible that I didn't do what I thought I did? How might it be possible that I'm wrong about this?  That's a really great way to show up in the world, with curiosity, instead of thinking absolutely I know that I am right.   And that kind of curiosity is especially a superpower in relationships.

OK guys that's what I have for you today.  Apply is somewhere in your life this week.  You’re a human, too.  We’re all going to be wrong about things now and then.  Increase your self-awareness by looking closer at what you’re thinking and where it would be helpful to add some curiosity.

I’m Coach Mimi and I’ll be here next time In The Good Guy Corner.