I need to...

stop making ASSUMPTIONS...!

definition: something taken for granted; a supposition without proof; arrogance; presumption; conjecture, guess, theory..

you know that saying: "when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me"...?

well, i'm just beginning to realize how true that saying really is.

i think the problem is
that we have been raised to make conjectures:
in school, we have to come to conclusions about things all the time without 100% positivity;
in life, people speak in riddles and beat around the bush
instead of being straightforward,
and this creates a doorway for assumptions to be made.
we spend so much time sugar-coating things;
it is a rare thing when we get 100% straight-up truth.
for this reason, we are just in the habit of making assumptions
without actually stopping and taking a second to really THINK.

We also just don't LISTEN enough.
sure, we hear the words
and comprehend their textbook meaning.
but we should start THINKING
on more deeper a level.

this must be why people take the words "i love you" for granted,
and they say them without fully understanding them
on that deeper level.
i would venture to say that
those words mean something completely different than most people think.

also: just tell the TRUTH!
"We tell lies when we are afraid... afraid of what we don't know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger." ~Tad Williams
if we stopped lying and started telling the truth,
it makes it easier for others to understand us
and then they do not have to make assumptions!

maybe you don't necessarily "lie", but a half-truth makes a whole lie

in addition
we should not interrupt someone until they are done saying
whatever it is that they are saying!
it may seem that they are wrong
but they have not finished speaking yet
so how do you know for sure?
you don't!
so maybe it came out wrong and they need to clarify what they meant
or maybe they ARE simply wrong...
but i think we should remember that they have the right to finish their thought



for all these reasons,
i seem to be making assumptions
and i jump to conclusions way to quickly!
this is becoming a problem.

i am really going to start working on
listening to what people are saying to me
and thinking about it;
and thinking before i say something:
what does it mean?, what is its relevance to the conversation? how will the other party interpret it?
and then i should really stop interrupting people
when they are speaking to me
i am really going to start trying to LET THEM FINISH!