27 January
2012
Written by Brian Martin
“Self-righteousness”. This behaviour results in people giving their own point of view more credence than the viewpoints that others express. And this is not necessarily a “bad” thing! But where it leads to problems is where the essential balance between the viewpoints of ourselves and others isn’t maintained. Then we become “captured” by the “rightness” of our own viewpoint, and give it more weight than is healthy for our relationships with those around us. People who are very knowledgeable are particularly at risk for self-righteous behaviour. Self-righteousness is about our unwillingness or inability to accommodate anyone else’s viewpoint. It’s fairly obvious that this damages our relationship with the people who hold those other viewpoints, and this in turn damages our ability to secure and maintain their support for our goals.
Self-righteousness is therefore self-defeating.
If you’re busy being right all the time, then it’s time to realise that the damage this is doing to your relationships isn’t worth it, and that it’s time for a personal shake-up. It’s also time to realise that any damage to your relationships is damage to your accomplishment.
WRITTEN BY BRIAN MARTIN