The Art of the Concession
Sometimes Letting One Go Is the Only Path Forward
In my first year of law school, one of my courses required a moot court argument before a panel of faculty members serving as judges. Within my argument, I felt strongly that I was correct on a particular piece of my argument. I made it, and one judge gave a rather skeptical look. A series of questions followed, which convinced me that these judges just weren’t getting it. I was clear, and the text of the statute I was arguing fully supported me. I just had to keep going until they grasped the point.
I truly believed throughout the argument — and indeed well after — that the problem was not me. Rather, it was that three law school professors were incapable of understanding my first-year brilliance. In retrospect, this was remarkably arrogant of me, but it was also incredibly naïve. Whether the point was wrong or I wasn’t communicating it well doesn’t matter; I held on too long, and made a small slice of my position seem much more significant than it needed to be.
In so many places, whether in an argument or in living our daily lives, we hold on to something for too long. We want everything, and fear what happens if we let that one part go. But often, letting go of what holds us back and moving forward gives us a better chance to get to where we really want to be.
