When doing what is right feels wrong

I sat in my car paralyzed with indecision. There was a fire just down the street and the road was closed.

The police car was blocking the road while a fire truck was screaming towards me and an annoyed sergeant was gesturing with obvious irritation for me to go through the closed intersection.

I could barely take my foot off the brake. I knew what was happening.

It was obvious that the sergeant wanted me to move so that the fire truck had more room to pass, but pulling over when I see and hear an emergency vehicle is so ingrained in me that it took a monumental force of will to take my foot off the brake.

I did it and got clear, but the experience caused me to reflect on times when doing the “right” thing (pulling over for the fire truck) conflicted with doing what was needed in the moment (moving forward).

There are times when what we feel is right clashes with real world situations.

In those moments, the best choice might be the one that feels “wrong.”

For example, we are encouraged to never quit on things, but staying in a dysfunctional situation is not healthy and while it may feel wrong to move, it is the right thing to do.

Society labels quitting as failure, but sometimes it is a courageous and necessary choice, such as when Simone Biles withdrew from competition in the 2021 Olympics to prioritize her mental health.

Being flexible doesn’t mean we’re abandoning our principles, but rather that we are applying them thoughtfully in context.

I always taught my children to respect and obey their teachers and coaches, but when a coach became verbally abusive, encouraging my daughter to stand up to him was the better choice.

It may have felt wrong, but it was the right thing to do.

Like my firetruck experience, deeply ingrained habits can conflict with the needs of the moment.

However, it is in those gray areas of life that growth happens. It takes courage to pause, reflect, and sometimes act against ingrained habits for the greater good.

It helps to seek God’s guidance rather than rigidly adhering to what feels instinctive or ingrained. I hope, Dear Reader, that if you find yourself entrenched by habit in an unhealthy situation, that you consider doing what may feel wrong, but it is truly right.

Adaptability is not weakness; it is wisdom. It’s not every day I get waved through a roadblock by an irritated sergeant, but the experience taught me something important: I cannot always listen to what my habits are dictating, I need to be adaptable enough to choose what “feels” wrong.

And let’s be honest, next time I see a firetruck and a police officer, I’m still going to hesitate.

With apologies to the sergeant for my previous moment of paralysis, next time I’ll move more quickly and maybe even get a thumbs-up instead of that (justly deserved) stink eye.

Contact Sharon at tct@pageone-inc.com