{"id":77590,"date":"2022-09-05T18:54:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-05T22:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=77590"},"modified":"2022-09-07T11:44:24","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T15:44:24","slug":"admitting-you-are-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Better at Admitting You Are Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Do you find it difficult to admit that you were wrong? Why is it so hard to own up to your mistakes? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Admitting you were wrong can feel like a blow to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/your-ego\/\">your ego<\/a> and self-image, but it&#8217;s an essential step to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-grow-as-a-person\/\">growing as a person<\/a>.  When you make a conscious effort to admit you were wrong, you express humility, which shows courage and open-mindedness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s how to get better at admitting you are wrong, according to Adam Grant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-admit-you-were-wrong\"><strong>How to Admit You Were Wrong<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Adam Grant, the author of <em>Think Again<\/em>, admitting you are wrong requires that you detach your identity from your beliefs and opinions. He shares two suggestions for this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-suggestion-1-differentiate-your-current-self-from-your-past-self\"><strong>Suggestion #1: Differentiate Your Current Self From Your Past Self<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Detach yourself from your old beliefs by reflecting on who you used to be and how you have changed<\/strong>. Explore this concept by drawing a Venn diagram that shows the beliefs and values of your past self and how they compare with your beliefs and values today.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Comparing yourself now to who you were in the past not only helps you acknowledge how your beliefs can evolve, but also makes you aware of the beliefs and opinions that <em>haven\u2019t <\/em>changed over time. Recognizing that you have beliefs that you have never questioned may <a href=\"https:\/\/theoverwhelmedbrain.com\/truths\/\">spur you towards reconsidering these views<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-suggestion-2-identify-with-your-morals-not-your-opinions\"><strong>Suggestion #2: Identify With Your Morals, Not Your Opinions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Learn to identify with <\/strong><strong><em>morals and values<\/em><\/strong><strong> rather than opinions or beliefs. <\/strong>Morals and values are your core principles (for example, generosity, kindness, or creativity). Grant asserts that morals and values provide a broader and more flexible framework for your identity than beliefs because you can apply them consistently across a broad range of situations. A belief, on the other hand, is usually far more narrow and specific, and it is less able to adapt to new evidence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, a teacher believes that assigning homework is beneficial and feels threatened by recent evidence suggesting that homework provides few benefits. But when the teacher identifies <em>creativity <\/em>as a core value, she considers if there are more creative, effective ways to reinforce her lessons. She becomes open to adapting and experimenting with new methods that work best for her students\u2014instead of being restricted to her old ways by her narrow belief.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Grant says that you should <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/living-by-your-values\/\">live by your values<\/a>, but he doesn\u2019t explain how to determine what these values <em>are<\/em>. Experts suggest listing all the values important to you, and then categorizing these values\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reputationdefender.com\/blog\/job-seekers\/how-to-write-a-powerful-personal-values-statement\">this helps you condense your list and identify the <em>core<\/em> values to live by.<\/a> For example, values such as \u201chonesty,\u201d \u201chumor,\u201d and \u201cauthenticity\u201d can fall under the core value of \u201cstrong relationships.\u201d)&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you find it difficult to admit that you were wrong? Why is it so hard to own up to your mistakes? Admitting you were wrong can feel like a blow to your ego and self-image, but it&#8217;s an essential step to growing as a person. When you make a conscious effort to admit you were wrong, you express humility, which shows courage and open-mindedness. Here&#8217;s how to get better at admitting you are wrong, according to Adam Grant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":23330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,43],"tags":[716],"class_list":["post-77590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-self-improvement","tag-think-again","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Get Better at Admitting You Are Wrong - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"According to Adam Grant, admitting you are wrong requires that you detach your identity from your beliefs. He shares two suggestions for this.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Get Better at Admitting You Are Wrong\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to Adam Grant, admitting you are wrong requires that you detach your identity from your beliefs. He shares two suggestions for this.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-05T22:54:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-07T15:44:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/conversation-talking-empathy.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"How to Get Better at Admitting You Are Wrong\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-05T22:54:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-07T15:44:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/\"},\"wordCount\":469,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/conversation-talking-empathy.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Think Again\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Communication\",\"Self-Improvement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/\",\"name\":\"How to Get Better at Admitting You Are Wrong - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/admitting-you-are-wrong\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/conversation-talking-empathy.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-05T22:54:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-07T15:44:24+00:00\",\"description\":\"According to Adam Grant, admitting you are wrong requires that you detach your identity from your beliefs. 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