Word-Of-the-Week #1009: Assumption
December 7, 2023 by Susan Clarke
Assumption – something taken for granted or accepted as true without proof.
Do you ever question what you are told? Do you repeat things you’ve heard without verifying they are true? Can you sense when someone is telling you “facts” that are really their assumptions?
Steve Strauss, author of STEVE’S 3-MINUTE COACHING, once again has great insight to share.
He writes, “More problems are caused by assumptions than perhaps any other single source. Yet, many people make most of their decisions based on assumptions rather than checking out what’s real. There are several reasons for this.”
“First, it’s easy. You’re ready for a decision right now, no efforting required.
Second, it lets you feel really smart, or at least appear to be. Sometimes we feel the need to be the ‘smart one’ in the room.
Third, by assuming, you don’t have to look at what’s real, which may be what you don’t want to see.
Fourth, well, the list of reasons to assume is endless. The question is, ‘What is a better strategy?’
Try asking questions instead of telling what you assume. Try listening instead of talking. Try waiting for clarity instead of having a shoot-from-the-hip ‘answer.’
Before you repeat something you read on the Internet or had a friend tell you came from the neighbor of their cousin’s sister’s husband, do a little research. Check out the facts. Apply a little logic. Ask “does this seem reasonable?”
Look at your personal history and see if you’ve made some incorrect assumptions which cost you. There is really no reason to base the success of your life on assumptions. It’s a flawed strategy.
- Coaching Point: Do you remember how you feel when you sense that what someone is telling you as fact is really just their assumption? Do you want others to feel that when you speak?”
— Copyright 2023 Steve Straus. All rights reserved. —
I clearly was not of sound mind when I agreed to be the President of my HOA back in 2010. But in retrospect, I learned a lot. Assumption and over reaction are two of the biggest time wasters I took away from that. And I believe that you lose credibility every time you go there. My new favorite line is, “get me the facts.” This week focus on Steve’s Coaching Point.
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