“When you’re surrounded by people who share the same set of assumptions as you, you start to think that’s reality.”
― Emily Levine, American philosopher & humorist
You’ve surely heard the old saying about what happens when we make assumptions, yet we do it all the time. We assume because someone goes to church they abide by a certain moral code. We assume the teenager with the weird hair and the crazy clothes is on drugs. We assume the poverty-stricken lady down the street has no knowledge of value to share. We assume the happy, smiling couple on social media is truly living the life they present on Instagram. We assume a lot of things.
Most of the time that just means we miss out on getting to know someone or learning something new because assumption shuts doors. But when we start lumping our shared assumptions together and acting on them as if they are truth, we run the risk of truly monstrous behavior.
Instead of assuming, ask questions. It’s harder on the nerves, possibly bruising to the ego, and more time-consuming, but it’s far more valuable in the long run. You might find out that the person to whom you assumed you were diametrically opposed has more in common with you than you initially believed.
