Resist making assumptions; try hard to clarify

We can recall times in our lives when we made assumptions about people or situations and eventually were proven wrong. Can you remember when you were incorrect in your assumptions? Perhaps there were serious consequences or at least a feeling of embarrassment.

Assumptions are incomplete notions by their nature. They are the mind’s way of controlling ambiguity by filling in the blanks. Those notions are the result of a mental attempt to gain certainty over the uncertain. These notions are beliefs based on a conjured premise. Sometimes, you can be utterly convinced of those assumptive beliefs only to be mistaken. So how do you avoid the pitfalls of making assumptions? One strategy is to realize it’s OK not to know all the answers. We all need clarification. You can ask a question for further information. You can restate your understanding with another person to gain additional insight. Perhaps you can simply bring awareness to your mind that you are in the throes of making incomplete speculations. What gets in the way sometimes is making snap judgments. The mind is a meaning-making mechanism; therefore, it can work too quickly in guessing the reasons why people and events are as they seem. Appearances, you may have learned, can be very deceiving. We’ve seen in corporate culture how some people suffer greatly because of mistaken ideas they have about their future employment, colleagues and bosses. Assumptions can frequently lead to self-sabotage in the workplace and beyond.

When you do your best to resist assumptions and clarify when you can, you have greater enjoyment and suffer less.

For the AJC Angela and Dennis Buttimer