The Value of Being Wrong

As you know, this month marks one of the most important milestones of my life, the official release of my book, Looking Up, happens on February 25th. As the day comes ever closer, my emotions become ever stronger: excited, nervous, inspired, jittery. I have had moments like this before in my life: leading up to a major surgery, my first interview, delivering a TED Talk. But nothing quite compares to this. My book tells my story, it is about all the aspects of my life from describing physical pain, to my perception of my family members and friends, to my emotional development. I am really putting it out there, in a big way! But if sharing my story and my lessons and my beliefs can help others, I am reaching my goals.

The fourth chapter of my book deeply examines and questions the value we place on being a “good judge of character”. Isn’t this just a way of patting ourselves on the back for judging a book by its cover? We make assumptions about people sometimes before we even meet them, then we feel validated if we believe those assumptions to be truth. I am not here to tell you not to make assumptions or snap judgements, because we all know that it is human nature. What I am here to encourage is that you do your best to prove those things wrong.

“Do we see immeasurable potential when we walk the streets of our cities or the halls of our offices? People––mere people––would intrigue and excite us if we did.”

From a young age, I was exposed to and knew a lot of people with physical ailments. I lived in the Children’s Hospital in Baltimore for a couple of months while undergoing physical therapy following several surgeries. I lived on the 4th floor with other semi-permanent, and at times permanent, children. Would I have rather been at home riding my bike? Sure. But, the silver lining was the ease of building relationships with peers at the hospital. There were many different situations at play in the rooms of the 4th floor, but we all had a common ground. We all knew about pain, disappointment, and fear. We all understood loneliness and feelings of unworthiness. Our circumstances were different, but our ability to relate and empathize ran deep. As did our bonds.

“Empathy isn’t dependent on parallel circumstances.”

To me, one of the best feelings is finding common ground with people in very serendipitous situations. A favorite example occurred during a trip for work where I found common, fruitful ground with a farmer in Uganda. I did not approach this trip with the idea that I would be able to walk away feeling that I could relate to a woman that managed a sugar cane farm in an underdeveloped country, but alas, I did. She: a hard-working woman in a male dominated field, eager to prove herself. Me: been there. She: a dreamer with the goal of her ten children attending college and having good-paying careers. Me: also a dreamer, with the goal of positively impacting lives across the world. The ten minutes I spent with her turned in to such a gift.

“It’s time we see the greater value in being wrong about people.”

You have the power to change your perspective. Approach the world with eagerness to learn about the people around you. Think you already know enough about some of the people in your life? Challenge yourself to learn more. You may find even more value in the people that you already treasure. You may find value in others that you had deemed unworthy. Forming bonds and deepening bonds will never be an insignificant moment in your life. Finding what connects you to the people around you is a true blessing.

Keep looking up and be a Dreamer,

Michele