“What was the most popular name in the US for baby boys in 2009?” As I recall, this was the final question on Million Dollar Money Drop a few days ago. The choices were “Michael,” “Jacob” and “Ethan.”
The contestants were mostly certain it was “Michael” but I, the knowing one, was more certain than them. They and I reasoned 2009 was the year Michael Jackson died and the world loves Michael. I also figured I know a lot of Mike's and rarely ever hear the other two names. Jacob sounds Jewish to me and not everyone is Jewish. I could feel the heat in my cheeks, breast and forehead as I tried to send this instant message loudly through the TV.
The correct answer was “Jacob.” It turns out Jacob has been number one for the past ten years.
Here's the reality. It is possible to be certain you are absolutely right and that there's no way you could be wrong and be completely mistaken. Luckily this was just a game show. I wondered how often this could and does happen to me and others about things that really matter. I must be more careful, diligent, vigilant, aware, receptive, introspective and more open.
After coming to terms with how I convinced myself to be wrong, (luckily there were no witnesses) I reviewed how I ended up on the righteous road to self deception.
1. Yes I know a lot of Mike's but evidently I don't know everyone in the US and evidently not any of those born in the past ten years.
2. Not hearing something doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
3. Jacob is more Christian than it is Jewish and Christianity has a long history of influencing baby names.
With these additional considerations in the mix, objectivity rises and the wrong answer becomes less of a certainty, less of a possibility. When it comes to real life, this makes it less likely to fall flat and hard when the richness of life is at stake.
Do you want to be right from the start or finally get it right? If you choose the former, you only give yourself one chance and even when it's time to move or change position, refusal to do so is as a stubborn mule – the bewitching of oneself into believing that resisting and holding fast to the spot is progress. I prefer to finally get it right no matter how many times I must change position.
When it comes to thinking we know something, we should regularly consider, what if we're not right? What are the other possibilities? Sometimes that raging fiery feeling of certainty we get when we reiterate what we think we know might just be a warning burning sensation telling us to drop it like it's hot. Additional information is an opportunity. The same instinct that minimizes physical harm by telling us to let go of something hot must also be allowed to save us from a longheld belief. We must reflexively and swiftly, drop it like it's not – right.
