Ever made a dumb assumption? Here’s a link to possibly one of the dumbest
assumptions ever!
If the headline and related story
weren’t so absolutely wrong, it would be comical in its assumption. Yes, Harry Truman actually won that election
way back in 1948!
Just goes to show you making rash
and, therefore, potentially dumb assumptions can be very troublesome in so many
ways.
Reflect, for just a moment, on the
assumptions you’ve made in your life so far.
First, with particular focus on those assumptions that turned out to be
incorrect (AKA, dumb) ☺. What were the specific things you did to make those assumptions?
Similarly, consider the
assumptions you’ve made that proved to be absolutely on the money. You assumed correctly, and you were sure of
it at the instant of the assumption.
What were the circumstances surrounding those correct assumptions that
led you to be right?
I would venture to say when you
made incorrect assumptions those assumptions were based totally on the emotion
of the moment. Conversely, your correct assumptions
had a basis in fact and not your emotions.
The proof of my opinion lay in the
formal definition of the word, assumption.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it this way: “a fact or statement (as
a proposition, axiom, postulate, or notion) taken for granted.”
Hmm…”taken for granted.”
Now, here is the dichotomy that
arises from this discussion, so far. If
you take the above definition literally along with my point of making your
assumptions solely based on emotion, you might not want to take anything for
granted ever again.
Here’s the problem with that. It’s as Michael Jordan once said: “You must
expect great things of yourself before you can do them.”
His thinking seems to be very much
suggesting you must assume before the fact.
If you agree with him, your success is at risk if you don’t assume it
before you achieve it.
In four words, Jordan’s thinking
supports the Power
of Positive Thinking.
Here’s how to be smart in making
assumptions about the inevitability of your success through the power of
positive thinking.
First, have a clear vision of what you want your success to
look like.
Second, have a very clear vision of WHY you
want your success to be as you envision it.
Third, develop a clear vision of how you
are going to achieve that success by documenting a plan of action.
Fourth, use the vision from the first
three steps in driving you to act on the plan.
Following the above four steps
will assure you don’t make dumb assumptions about your success. Rather, you will feel really smart when you
get there!
What
was the most important thing you learned from considering the characteristics
of your past assumptions? How will you
use what you learned to be smart about your assumptions for your success in the
future?
Please share your thoughts by commenting below.
And…please forward this information to others by following the social
media share link at the top or bottom of this post.
Thank you.
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