Years ago, the principal at my kids’ school would always remind students that when given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind. This was a line in the book Wonder, adapted by author R.J. Palacio from a similar phrase by self-help author Wayne Dyer.
Being right matters, but it’s not always the most important thing. Some people are so sure they’re right that they justify treating people harshly. Worse, they might still be wrong! Let me illustrate this with a table:
| Right | Kind | |
|---|---|---|
| ✅ | ✅ | 🙂 |
| ❌ | ✅ | 🙂 |
| ✅ | ❌ | 🙁 |
| ❌ | ❌ | 😡 |
The best thing about “choose kind” is that it protects you from being wrong and an asshole at the same time.
