In my high school days, peers and counselors each told me, on more than one occasion, "You could be valedictorian if you wanted to." To which I invariably replied, "Yeah? So what?"
One counselor in particular induced a WTF reaction in me when she said "With a verbal SAT score of 760, your math score should be higher than 580." Like I said, WTF!?!
It took me several decades to realize that the stubbornness which is both my genetic legacy and one of my most common responses to opposition didn't serve me well in this context. What I've learned, through my efforts to practice Buddhism and just plain old-fashioned tolerance, is that I can be right, and feel myself to be doing right, without having to convince others. They're entitled to their opinions; I'm entitled to an enlightened self-interest and autonomy. And I have the responsibility of listening to others rather than dismissing their ideas out of hand ...
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