I’m finding it a bit disconcerting these days how many people’s brains seem to be atrophying due to constantly having their faces buried in their phones, engrossed in who knows what on social media.
Sadly we’re so polarized we’ve forgotten how to listen to other points of view with curiosity and an open mind. And we no longer know how to admit when we’re wrong for fear of being ‘cancelled’ by people whose opinions we shouldn’t bother to care about.
The well-oiled and flexible brains that we used to strive for, now appear to be confined to a small handful of intellectuals and few people, it seems, aspire to join this esteemed group.
Sometimes we find little gems in fiction that speak to things that trouble us and give us hope for needed change. I recently found one such gem.
The brilliant detective, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, in Louise Penny’s Three Pines book series, relies on 4 statements that he believes lead to wisdom. Gamache encourages all his trainees in the Sûreté du Québec to learn to embrace and use these statements in both their murder investigations and in their lives.
Although he is sometimes mocked and rebuked as being simplistic and naive by his rivals, he nonetheless proves that his methods more often than not lead to success.
I encourage you to consider incorporating these statements into your personal lexicon and pay attention to what changes in how effective you are in your interactions with others.
They 4 statements are:
- I was wrong
- I’m sorry
- I don’t know
- I need help
It’s interesting how hard these statements are for some people to embrace and the surprising difference they make when they do.
Go ahead and experiment with them and discover what changes for you. I expect you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Simple is often very powerful.