I am right, I swear I'm right. I swear I knew it all along...
Don't you just love the feeling of vindication? That moment when you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were right. Regardless of what anyone else thought or did, none of it matters, you were right in the end. Such sweet satisfaction :)
And then there are those moments when everything comes crashing down, and vindication is the last thing on your mind. Quite the opposite - instead you're realizing that you screwed up... that the choice you made was absolutely, and totally, wrong.
I've had both of these moments in my life. I think we're all bound to, right? Right. But why? Why are we bound to have these types of moments? Is it because our lives are chock full of decision making? Not necessarily, because not every choice is right or wrong, sometimes it's just a simple decision. What to eat for breakfast - cheesy eggs and bacon or Lucky Charms? Lemme tell you, either one of these is a winner, no wrong decision here! I propose that the reason that we have so many moments of vindication or utter despair is that, as humans, we have to believe that there is a "right" answer to everything that we do, because if there isn't, then what justifies our choice? Hmm, justification and vindication go hand in hand? Shocking :)
I've found that this is particularly true of things that are close to our hearts. Cuz honestly, I rarely get fired up about which detergent is the holy grail and which one is totally evil. Not sayin', just sayin'. But if you're in the territory of things that I hold dear, things that I value, or decisions from my past, you can bet yer sweet patootie that I might start getting a lil' hot under the collar.
And why? What's the point? What makes some decisions seem like they ARE THE BIGGEST DEAL IN THE WHOLE WORLD? Because the people who make one choice NEED to believe that their choice was right, and the people who choose something else NEED to believe that their choice was right... because if it wasn't the right choice, then why are they doing what they're doing?
We need to believe that the choice we made was right. Even if it wasn't... Then, we find out the hard way - insert feelings of either total vindication or total wrongness (here). Whew, that sounds exhausting.
And honestly, when I stop and think about it, why does it really matter? I think it just comes down to pride. I believe so strongly that I am right about something because I am confident that I could not make a mistake. All of this is based on my pride - whether my decision turns out to be right or wrong will then lead me to either feel proud of my "right" decision, or ashamed of my "wrong" decision. Woof, what a mess!
So, I guess vindication is overrated, eh? And it comes with a heavy price... encouraging pride. So, I guess I don't love the feeling of vindication - the shine of which caught my eye, captivated me, but it's time to let it go... thanks Dashboard :)
On to living a life without constantly needing to be right!
