When I was
studying abnormal psyche back in the day, the professor brought our attention
to a case study of a man who believed he was a corpse. One day a doctor asked
him if corpses bled. The Walking Dead guy said, “Of course not!”
Dr: So if I
prick your finger with this needle, as a corpse, you will not bleed?
Walking Dead
Guy: Correct.
The doctor then
pricked the man’s finger and it instantly began bleeding.
Walking Dead
Guy: I’ll be … I guess corpses do
bleed!
To some degree
or another, we are all like this Walking Dead Guy, in so far as we choose to
reshape facts and reality to fit our belief-systems, rather than the other way
around. It’s understandable, of course, because, depending on how deeply held
the beliefs, our egos are tied to them. I am
my beliefs, ergo, if I am wrong about
them, then there is something “wrong” with me. With this mindset, being wrong
is then a mortifying and psychologically shattering experience. This is why
people so often militantly resist those whose belief systems are contrary to
their own. It has nothing to do with facts, logic, or the truth, only the
guarding of ego.
This is why it
is often a waste of oxygen to argue with people. Unless you get down to core
beliefs and presuppositions, even if you “win the argument” regarding the issue
at hand, the “convert” will soon return to thinking and believing as he did
before your discussion. Core beliefs win out. Always.
Rather than thinking
of others, however, make this personal and ask yourself these three questions:
“What does
being wrong mean to me?” (How do you experience being wrong?)
“What are ten
great things that can come from discovering I am wrong about something or
someone?”
“How would I
know if I am wrong?”
Good hunting.
Copyright, Monte E Wilson, 2015
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