I have noticed so many things over this last year. I have noticed that people form an opinion and then proceed to “know” that they are right. How do they know? How are they positive and sure about what they think?
I think that one of the reasons I went into social work is because I tend to be able to see two sides to any situation. It came in handy when I was sitting in front of a marital couple, and they were both telling me their side of the story. They each have a side and they tend to think their side is the right side. I have learned with my husband that my opinion is just that – it’s just my opinion. He may have a different opinion. I have learned that I may be wrong. Have you ever thought about that before that you may be wrong?
Don’t get me wrong. We need to form opinions. We need people to be leaders and plow forward thinking that they are right and that they have a solid vision to better the future. I applaud that. I want people to make a difference. I just sometimes wonder if people ever question the other side of things?
Where is this all coming from? It is coming from the research I am currently doing in regards to the school board election going on today in my school district. It has been such a hard school year as you all know. I just hope that the best candidates win. I am currently reading about each candidate and learning as much as I can about them. That’s what we can do. We can do our own research and make the best decisions that we can. I try not to just take someone’s word about anything. I think it’s great to talk to people we respect and collect information. We can gather information in multiple ways.
Some questions:
Do you think that your religion is the “right” religion?
Do you think that your political views are the “right” political views?
I think that as I get older and gain confidence, I have found that telling myself that I am right was just me being insecure. I was feeling insecure, and I needed to close my mind to thinking I was right. Having doubts in myself made me feel uneasy. I have changed. Now I see that there are many different sides to looking at things. I have learned that there are many different religions and many differently political ways to look at things. I have learned that there are six candidates for the school board with many different views on what they think needs to happen to make our school district better. I am learning to appreciate differences more and more the older I get.
I used to snap at Seth and think that he was wrong. My way was the right way. How could I be so closed minded to my husband? Seth is such a smart man. Now I know to really listen. Listen to what other people’s opinions are. Do they make sense?
I have opinions on many things. What makes a good parent? What makes a good spouse? What makes a good pet parent? What makes a good politician? What makes a good doctor? The list goes on and on. I collected data over my last 44+ years to give me all these opinions. As we gain more information with age, we may find ourselves seeing things in a different way. This is ok. This is growth. Keep growing and learning and attempting to keep an open mind in the process.
I hear people bash candidates whether it is a presidential candidate or a school board candidate. That just doesn’t seem right to me. Doesn’t everyone think they know what’s best? Don’t these candidates all have good intentions? Maybe I am totally naïve, but I think there is goodness in a lot of people. I don’t tend to automatically think bad about someone. Especially if I don’t personally know them or have enough information about them.
What exactly am I challenging you to do:
- Try to see multiple sides to a situation.
- Try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Be empathic.
- Try to see the good in people.
- Collect data in multiple ways.
- Keep yourself calm. Once we get angry and reactive, we tend to close off to hearing other sides to things.
- Ask a lot of questions and avoid assumptions. Be curious.
- Be interested in others.
- Remember that you may not know something. We are learning more every day. I remember therapists saying they didn’t want to go to a training. I challenged them that I bet they would learn something new.
I challenge you to keep an open mind. I challenge you to realize that your opinion is just an opinion. An opinion doesn’t mean that you are 100% right.
Continue to learn and grow every day.
Laughing, Learning, Loving,
Rebecca Greene, LCSW-R
Updates:
If you are looking for a supportive community, come join the Whinypaluza Mom Facebook group. I created this as I wanted us to have a place where we can talk about tips, strengths and challenges we are having. It is another step I took to help everyone to know that you are not alone. Come join us! I’m excited for more challenges and I love giving away prizes! Come join us and bring a friend with you!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/whinypaluzamoms
The Whinypaluza Schedule:
Whinypaluza Wednesdays: My weekly blog comes out every Wednesday. I am always open to your topic requests. A new Vlog (video blog) also comes out every Wednesday night on Facebook and You Tube to discuss the blog. If you would rather listen to a podcast than watch a Vlog, you can wait for the following Wednesday and the Vlog is released on my Podcast.
***Note: Due to Scheduling conflicts, The Live Vlogs will be on Thursday nights at 9:00 PM for the month of May.
Family Fridays: Every Friday morning a new Podcast is released. Most of my episodes on Fridays are my discussing parenting and marriage with experts on the topic. If you would rather watch the Podcast instead of listen, you can watch it on Facebook or You Tube. If you would like to be on my Podcast or know someone who would like to please contact me at whinypaluzamom@gmail.com
I would so greatly appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate my Podcast and leave me a five star review. This leads to it being shown to more people that we can help. I’m launching a giveaway each month to someone who has subscribed and written me a five star review. I would also love for you to share my blogs, vlogs and podcasts with a friend so that we can build our community and help people one mama at a time.
Please feel free to email me with suggestions for topics that you would like for me to cover. I would also love to hear about any lessons or takeaways that you learned from blogs, vlogs or podcasts that Whinypaluza releases. This is all for you and I hope that you are finding it helpful and seeing that you are never alone.
