Saturday, March 8, 2014

Winning to Lose

"Be careful not to win the argument but lose the relationship."

I am not an argumentative person. I lack a strong competitive desire to win, and this is born out in my conversations with others. Yet even still, there are times when I find myself in deep disagreement with others. In those times, I remember this saying.

I have seen relationships fall apart when disagreement turns to enmity. What started as a conversation of differing viewpoints becomes an ego-driven need to be right above everything else.

Of course, handling disagreement well is an important facet of life; any relationship that has no disagreements may need re-examining. Yet I still find it useful to ask: "Is this issue so important that I'm willing to risk this relationship just so I can be right?"

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