You probably know someone who always needs to be right. Even when they are wrong they never give-up arguing their side. I admit I’ve been called Mrs. Right more than once.
Sports writer, Don Fraser says, “A happy home is one in which each spouse grants the possibility that the other may be right, though neither believes it.”
In an effort to keep peace, my husband Larry and I agreed to take turns being right at our house whenever we can’t agree. I must confess, it’s when I absolutely know I’m right and he’s wrong and he refuses to admit it, that it’s my favorite time to say, “O.K. It’s your turn to be right.”
One night at 10 p.m., Larry asked me to give him a hair cut so he would look his best for a corporate visit the next day at work. He set out the hair clipper along with the No.2 and No.3 guides. Knowing that I normally used a No.4, I opened the clipper case to locate it. Larry noticed. “What are you doing?”
Lois “Getting out the correct guide.”
Larry “I set out the correct ones. Listen. I know what I’m talking about.”
I’d grown tired of last minute late night hair cuts. Neither was I in the mood to argue. A smile broke through my tightly pierced lips.
Lois “O.K. It’s your turn to be right.” I had nothing to lose. I snapped on the No. 2 guide, turned on the clipper and buzzed a strip from his neckline to the top of his head.
The grinding of the clipper paralyzed both of us. It was a familiar sound, like the painful growl of a lawn mower blade scalping the grass down to the bare roots.
Larry “Honey poo? Couldn’t you have cut a smaller test strip? You know I don’t always know what I’m talking about.”
Where’s the humor? What I’ve learned about my husband is that the best way to get him to admit he’s wrong is for me to consider the possibility that he may be right even when I don’t believe it. Absurd! That’s the true meaning of humor. A sense of humor is the ability to appreciate the absurdity and enjoy the amusement that everyday life provides. Knowing my husband as I do, I knew he would take responsibility for my scalping him with the clipper and not get angry with me. I knew he grew up hearing his dad say, “The difference between a good hair cut and a bad one? Two weeks.” I knew Larry could and would laugh at his own stupidity and my spunk.
The need to be right is a human trait. To let go of the need to be right is a sign of maturity. The next time you find yourself arguing with someone who always insists they be right, consider telling them, “O.K., you get to be right this time. Next time, it’s my turn.” Then walk away. Instead of being at odds with each other, you might end up chuckling about the situation. Time will tell who was right. What matters most is that you’ll feel right because you did the right thing.