Winning... A New Perspective

by Paco Arespacochaga

I had a very engaging conversation with my 13 year old boy, who was really hell bent on trumping my point of view with his. And so I let him be. No wait! I was getting impatient and ticked off. I was viewing him as being too imposing and cocky. He was provoking my thoughts with his insights. Yes, his viewpoint on the matter was correct. And he was making sure I knew that. And I did! I even acknowledged it. However, when I started talking about my own point of view about the subject matter we were discussing, he would intentionally not pay attention. He would cut me mid-sentence and at times, go on a tangent.

Of course I wasn’t really intimidated by him because I can always use the “I’m your daddy… and I’m right!” card and end the conversation immediately but that would be unfair! However, I needed him to understand an important aspect of interaction. I wanted him to understand that being right doesn’t make another person wrong. I wanted him to realize that there are multi-layers of understanding and perspectives. I wanted him to fully understand that hearing someone else’s opinion will benefit your own opinion ten folds!

This is what I want you to understand. You are in competition with yourself. Period! Let others compete with themselves. Listen to what they have to say and try to learn from their perspectives too.

Winning doesn’t have to be a lonely “I am the only one!” scenario. Wouldn’t it be nice if everybody can be a winner at nobody’s expense except one's own experience? Think about it...

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