
Mr. Emerson uses a great term, in my opinion. It is a ‘vulgar mistake’ when we confuse being contradicted with being persecuted. There are far too many people who perceive any difference of opinion as a personal attack on them. This is simply not so. We can differ, and others can differ with us, without it being an attack. This can be hard to keep straight emotionally when we are in the heat of the situation. It may be good to practice asking the question, “Is this person just expressing a difference of opinion, or are they personally attacking me?” If I were to guess, 90% of the time the answer would be the former.
How about in your life? Do you have people who every time you disagree with them they perceive it as a personal attack? You might work on a gentle way to remind them that you are not attacking them, you are just disagreeing with them. How about yourself? Have you been guilty of this in the past? Start asking yourself the question now.
Everybody has a right to their opinion and the right to disagree. Also, the need to be appropriate
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