📅 Thought for today:
‘Assumptions are the termites of relationships.’
— Henry Winkler
#thoughtfortoday #assumptions #knowledge #fillinginthegaps #judging #curiosity
Assumptions are what we use to fill in the gaps in our knowledge.
Not all assumptions are bad, but we don’t often recognise that they are fictional (even when right).
When we assume that we know why someone behaves a certain way, says something, or is “negative”, we do so from a place of uncertainty.
We make up the “reasons” and believe them to be true, in a moment, without any thought.
When we do this about employees or managers, it affects our workplace relationships. When we assume that someone who is persistently late is “lazy”, we stop being curious.
When we stop being curious, our interest in alternative reasons or facts diminishes.
When this happens in a personal relationship, we can do a great deal of harm. The best way to find out the reasons someone behaves a certain way is to ask them, hear them, and accept their truth.
Unless we know the burden someone carries, judging them for being “bad”, “negative”, “irresponsible”, “lazy”, etc. etc is making up our own facts, usually to suit our narrative.
Shutting them out may help make us feel better, but what about them?
It costs a little bit of time to be curious, to listen and to empathise. Doing so might change the course of someone’s life.
