Jumping to conclusions is a bias-building exercise. To assume is to presume that you know more than you actually do. The biggest assumption is to assume that you have no assumptions. Our default assumptions often override truth.
It’s good to procrastinate making negative assumptions about people. To assume people dislike you is painful (and may be untrue). You might as well assume they do like you. If you want to make assumptions, make assumptions that release love, not anger.
I’m not always wrong in my opinions, but I always could be. Sometimes I hear a thud and realize that a bird has made a false assumption and flown into my deck door. Too often I’m like that bird.
Your assumptions tell your mind what to look for. It’s hard to see truth that doesn’t align with your assumptions. When assumptions are treated as fact, presumptions run wild and deception lurks nearby. If you don’t know the whole story, it’s safer not to make assumptions.
Assumptions give proud answers to our questions. Truth questions our answers. To be a better listener, assume less about people. To assume without adequate assessment can be both embarrassing and painful.
Just because something clashes with your assumptions, doesn’t mean it’s untrue. Unproven assumptions will filter much truth from our thinking. The safest assumption is to assume that hate-producing assumptions are wrong.
The concept of good people and bad people is a false assumption. Every person contains both good and bad. Our assumptions about people often prevent us from really getting to know them.
Belief doesn’t make something true (or false). My opinion doesn’t change reality. When false assumptions are made about you, do you like it? No one likes to be falsely accused.
Assumptions are often roadblocks to understanding. Clear communication is difficult. It’s easy for a person to say one thing while our assumptions cause us to understand another. It takes more courage to ask questions and listen to people, than to make assumptions.
There’s a lot of overlooked truth, just beyond our assumptions. Search for it. The fewer our assumptions, the more likely we are to be accurate in our assessment. When walking on assumptions, it’s best to test them before you put all your weight on then. Often our assumptions make the obvious hazy. The assumption that you know someone’s motives, is usually false.
Human nature tends to fill in the gaps of what we know with assumptions. Assumptions are beliefs based on little or no evidence. They often contain more falsehood than truth. It easier to accept assumptions than it is to examine truth that you don’t like.
The consumption of assumption results in presumption. Our assumptions tend to make us biased against any view that disagrees with them. If all you have is a strong opinion without evidence, it’s easy to treat it as truth.
For a handbook to help overcome many false assumptions, check out my book, Off the RACE Track.
