This is never a good idea. It’s usually said to crow about the speaker being right while the other person is wrong. And maybe she is wrong, but by saying you knew better all along, you only trigger defensiveness in the other person and–worse–you become a distraction.
Whether this involves a friend, a partner or a child, you don’t need the other individual so busy hating you that he can’t see the results of his own choices. Don’t be a distraction. Get the heck out of the way and let him learn.
When we frequently harp on the times we were right, we’re usually struggling with our own feelings of being wrong much of the time. If there’s such a need to “win” somehow or to gain points in some imaginary competition, you can alienate others and fail even more miserably at achieving the connections you want.
You won’t feel better by putting someone else down, at least, not for long.
It is very difficult to watch others make bad choices or head in directions you deeply suspect aren’t good. It’s just very hard. You still need to let others make their own mistakes. The urge to say something, to point out the potential mistake–to save the other person grief–can be almost overwhelming.
Fight it.
You being right doesn’t push others into making better choices, no matter how much you comfort yourself that it does. No one learns from you telling her what to do. Learning is personal and we must each find our own path. Not only doesn’t “being right” not help, it doesn’t endear you to anyone.
This challenge can be toughest with those we love the most.