"I Could Be Wrong."

Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. - Romans 12:16

In almost every area of life, there are four words that (if truly internalized) can often ease relational tension and lead to increased team (and that includes marital) harmony and productivity. They are:

"I could be wrong."

Uttered with true humility and honest self-appraisal (and not in the sense of, "Yeah, but I know I'm not"), this simple sentence has the ability to lead us away from many of the mistakes that commonly result from blinding hubris. Of course, the admitted possibility of being wrong does not exempt us from the need to make decisions, nor does it keep us from making a bad one every now and then, but it will keep us from making decisions or judgments with an inflated self-worth that belittles the contributions of others.

It is good to have an opinion. It is also good to have deeply-held convictions, but when such opinions or convictions cannot be altered by simple truth, then we not only might be wrong, we absolutely are.

Success in life is the ability to move from one mistake to another without loosing enthusiasm. - Winston Churchill