Better mad with the rest of the world than wise alone.

— Baltasar Gracián

CREATIVITY

WHAT THIS MEANS

Being right on your own has a cost that the rightness itself does not repay. Company, agreement, the ease of being among people who see what you see: that is a real good, and losing it hurts even when your reasoning was sound. This is not advice to abandon your judgment. It is a reminder that standing apart has a price worth naming.

Notice where you are holding a position mainly to be the one who was correct. Ask whether the point matters enough to stand alone for, and if it does, stand. Where it does not, let the disagreement go and keep the people.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Would you rather be right alone or mistaken among friends?

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