Wrong is not Bad!

Wrong is not Bad!

I have heard recently that it is frowned upon to indicate to a child, or anyone for that matter, that they are wrong. That to be told you are wrong is defeating, demoralizing. As such, the answer is therefore never to tell someone that they are wrong. 

I disagree. I understand what this approach is trying to get at, but I think they have missed the mark. The problem is not the fact of being wrong, it is the assumption that being wrong is bad. 

Getting something wrong or doing something wrong is not a reflection on the value of the person. It is NOT an estimation of the person’s right to exist, to have access to resources, to be loved. 

Wrongness and badness are not the same thing at all. If wrongness is the same as badness and to be wrong is to be bad, that is a statement on an individual’s value. It creates a static and concrete estimation. A permanent judgement. No one can survive that.

Instead, if we can look at the action as being inappropriate or inefficient or ineffective or even ill timed or ill thought out, all of these are fluid descriptions. These are specific to the action and not a damnation of the individual. 

From this place one can learn. From this place we can completely avoid the anxiety of trying a new thing. If trying a new thing runs the risk of doing it wrong, and doing it wrong is a condemnation of your very existence, who would ever try something new? 

Being wrong is the very essence of growth. It is the birth of learning and innovation.

Far from fearing the wrong, embrace it!