I have recently started listening to Adam Grant’s book “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know” and so far, it is quite an insightful book on spotting one’s own errors of cognition and perception. Being wrong is not bad or somehow makes one less of a person, it is simply a step towards being less wrong in the future. I myself can have a hard time admitting that I am wrong and have been trying to admit to being wrong more often. This is not quite as easy as it sounds and I think anyone who is driven by curiosity or wants to understand the world as best as they can, could benefit from it.
My first idea was to challenge myself to find one thing I was wrong about every day. The concept is, to write a “wrong” diary for three weeks and see what happens. I will start tomorrow and in three to four weeks, I plan on talking about the effects of the said diary.
The results I am hoping for are:
- Noticing my own cognitive biases more often (confirmation bias as well as any other)
- Being more comfortable when being wrong about something and accepting new knowledge
- Not rationalizing my own mistake or trying to make myself look smarter when being wrong
- Being more mindful of my own statements and helping myself be more humble in day-to-day life
- Learning how to be a better conversationalist and listener
- Be more open towards other opinions and viewpoints
I am really curious about how this experiment turns out and hope to learn something from this experiment. Almost every time I do a small project like this, I take something from it and grow one way or another. Being wrong is a part of life and if I can embrace it more fully and spot my own mistakes more often, that would be great.
Great!