You’re Right!

The greatest escape hatch for an unpleasant conversation ever made is: “You’re right.”

I see people trying to end arguments by starting new ones, trying to bypass an impasse by saying things like “You’re too stubborn to argue with,” or “Why am I wasting my time with you?” That’s silly!

Even seemingly diplomatic statements like “I think we’re at an impasse,” or “Agree to disagree,” don’t really do what you want them to. What you want is to end a fruitless conversation. You probably want to do that because you aren’t convinced by the other person’s statements and you realize they won’t be convinced by yours. So what’s the point of doing any more talking?

If you just say, “You’re right,” the conversation is over. If the person is your friend, they still are. Nothing changes. If it was a stranger you were arguing with (and if so… why?) then who cares if they walk away thinking they convinced you? The important thing is that they walk away!

Pride is dumb, especially when it makes your life worse. Just cheerfully say, “You’re right!”