Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.
The right to an opinion doesn’t make our opinion right.
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Leonardo da Vinci once said, “The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.”
We see this all the time whether it’s watching TV, scrolling through social media, gathering around the water cooler, or hanging out with family and friends.
Just because we have an opinion on something doesn’t mean we are right.
“I’m the greatest baseball player in the world,” a little boy boasted as he strutted around his backyard.
Shouldering his bat, he tossed a baseball up, swung, and missed.
“I am the greatest ballplayer ever,” he reiterated. He picked up the ball again, swung, and missed again. Stopping a moment to examine his bat, he stooped down and picked up his ball.
“I am the greatest baseball player who ever lived!” The momentum of his swing nearly knocked him down. But the ball plopped, unscathed, at his feet.
“Wow!” he exclaimed. “What a pitcher!”
Poor Abbott. Poor Costello. In the classic sketch Who’s On First, they heard each other’s words but just couldn’t seem to understand what each other was saying.
It’s no secret that we all desire to be listened to and we all want to be understood.
I am right. You are wrong. Why should I listen to you? Wait, what?!? You don’t understand what I’m saying? How is that even possible?
In the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey said, “If you’re like most people you probably seek first to be understood; you want to get your point across. And in doing so, you may ignore the other person completely, pretend that you’re listening, selectively hear only certain parts of the conversation, or attentively focus on only the words being said, but miss the meaning entirely. So why does this happen?”