Ever felt like you keep changing your mind when others disagree with you?
I have always valued the fact that I do not care much about prestige.
If I am wrong about something or if someone has a better idea than me, I’m happy to change my mind.
But at one point (when I was working with some very opinionated people) I started using this as an excuse to change my mind when discussions were getting too heated, too aggressive.
I started changing my mind to avoid the conflict, rather than being convinced by a better argument.
I quickly realised that I needed to work on this, because me changing my mind around like a sail in the wind, was not only affecting me but everyone working with me.
I recognised that many people were actually happier when I sticked to what you believe rather than seek agreement for the sake of agreement.
To be able to stand up to my own convictions, even during the tough discussions, I remind myself of the following (I still need to practice this every day):
🥘 Make sure I am ready for any tough discussion by having had enough to eat and sleep before. My willpower will be my saviour.
🧘 Stick to my idea, and have patience, although it might not be successful to begin with. If I have based my idea on experience, research, and gut feeling, it will turn out positive with time.
🆗 It is ok that people disagree with me.
Of course, I still change my mind on things, but then I make sure I know why, and transparently communicate that to the concerned people.
What do you do to stand your ground in a tough discussion? I would love to hear about it in the comments below 👇👇
