My mother never had a problem telling me I was wrong when I was wrong.

Oh sure, she was there to pat me on the back, kiss my fore head, and give me a standing ovation when I did something fantastic or was right about something but my god if I was ever in the wrong I never heard the end of it.

However, of the many times that I was in the wrong like when I talked back when I shouldn’t of or when I beat the snarky remarks out of my younger brother when I shouldn’t have; the one vital incident that altered my understanding of being wrong was when we disagreed on a political platform.

See, though my mom is no saint, she is an angel, one that protects me from sounding like the biggest moron on this planet.

Unfortunately, I decided that after an extensive lack of research that consisted of mere rumors as my element of support, I was the bearer of all things true and my mom was nothing more than an incompetent bystander.

Aside from knocking some much needed sense into me, my mom gave me the greatest advice she could offer: question everything including your beliefs because what you believe in could be a lie and then what will you end up defending?

Despite the brutal beating my pride and ego may take, I happily invite opposing views into my mindset because I would rather be proven wrong than live my entire life engulfed in a world of lies.

It’s so much easier to build a fort around your pre-existing views and protect them from the infiltration and penetration of the opposition because we want to feel like wee have this almighty power of truth that everyone else should follow.

We want to feel like we’re right all the time.  Therefore, we barricade ourselves in the safety of our own fortified bunkers, wrapped in blankets and pillows made of Egyptian cotton all while avoiding the possibility of being wrong.

From the time we were able to roll over and say “mama” we were taught to strive for perfection.

This false ideology that lingers from generation to generation produces this fear of being wrong as well as the fear of facing the humiliating consequences that stem from it.

It’s that very same fear that creates this sense of egocentrism in which everything you believe is the golden rule and cognitive dissonance prevents opposing beliefs from penetrating your thick skull.

Yet, the fear never ends and those who are in the wrong continue to share false information because others fear they might offend the person making the accusations.

In my household, my views were always challenged so that way I could not only find a concrete reason for why I believe in something but in case I was ever wrong I could find out what I had to do in order to be right.

Not being told that I’m wrong because someone doesn’t want to offend me is a much greater offense than an arrow, fired by Robin Hood, striking my neck with a bill for forest damage attached to it.

It’s OK to be wrong and it’s OK to tell someone when he or she is wrong.

Face your fears and be humble and willing to learn from others but don’t be a crude, heartless monster when correcting someone.

Unless you are Mary Poppins, no one is perfect.

We are all prone to making mistakes but the only way you’ll look like an idiot from a mistake is if you don’t learn how to correct it.