In our most recent post, I found it incredibly hopeful reading through the wise words shared by so many of you. Today I\u2019d like to elaborate on a single one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to \u201chow can you\/me be part of the solution,\u201d one person wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDeconstruct some of your assumptions about how we are different.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n No doubt all of us have been on the receiving end of another\u2019s assumptions. We\u2019ve been assumed to be all sorts of things\u2026 to have some outlandish ideas\u2026 to be a little crazy\u2026 to have succumbed to all the lies\u2026 to vote a certain way\u2026 to lean drastically one way or another. The root issue is that we make assumptions about another we deeply believe to be true\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n When they are not.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the thing. However we voted, at least approximately 75 million people voted differently than each of us. Picture that for a moment. 75,000,000. What flawed logic it would be for me to exert or even entertain an assumption that I could make about everyone who voted differently than me. Or even the same. Assumptions simply do not make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wrote career marketer and strategic consultant, Sarah Blick, a few years ago on her namesake\u2019s blog:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy assumptions start\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s easy to make assumptions. All you need is incomplete information about a situation. And an unwillingness to ask the questions you need to complete the information. In the absence of complete information, you have to fill in the blanks yourself.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You fill in the blanks with YOUR interpretation of what you see or hear. Your interpretation comes from past experiences that seem similar. It comes from your past experiences, and also from those you\u2019ve heard about from others.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Armed with your information, you connect dots that aren\u2019t there. You can\u2019t help doing this because you\u2019re missing relevant information. In trying to make sense of the situation, you make connections between today and the past. Connections that don\u2019t really exist. You jump to conclusions that are wrong.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s repeat what we hear\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s easy to make assumptions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our information is incomplete.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n My own unwillingness is in play.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n My assumption is based on <\/em>my<\/em><\/strong> interpretation from <\/em>my<\/em><\/strong> experience and what <\/em>I <\/em><\/strong>hear.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I connect dots that aren\u2019t there.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I then make connections and conclusions that are <\/em>wrong.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Continues Blick: \u201cAssumptions are ALWAYS wrong.<\/strong> I have a perfect record with the assumptions I\u2019ve made. 100% of them have been wrong. And it\u2019s hard to believe that I\u2019m unique in this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence, let\u2019s insert a hard question here: who have I made assumptions about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 that I know? \u2026 and that I don\u2019t? And have I made any about those millions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blick urges we \u201cavoid making assumptions like the plague,\u201d believing it\u2019s toxic, divisive behavior \u2014 lazy, too \u2014 with all due respect \u2014 as it\u2019s less effort, less work on our part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A prudent encouragement is therefore to instead ask questions. Ask questions instead of making assumptions. Ask them instead of discounting another. Ask them instead of even writing another off (\u2026 recognizing we\u2019ve utilized incomplete info to do so).<\/em> Sit longer with the unknown, the inconvenient, and yes, the uncomfortable. Ask questions about what you don\u2019t understand. Adds Blick, \u201cI\u2019ve grown a lot from all the information I\u2019ve gathered through asking questions\u2026 I\u2019ve deepened my compassion for others by understanding the fears that lay behind their assumptions. I\u2019m more positive. I\u2019m more fun to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Time to commit to deconstructing our assumptions. They are not true \u2014 no matter how fervently we\u2019ve convinced ourselves otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once, in fact, several years ago, a group of curious teens assumed I was a very successful Olympic badminton player. <\/em>I kid you not\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Dare I say, that one, I shrewdly allowed to stand.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n AR <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In our most recent post, I found it incredibly hopeful reading through the wise words shared by so many of you. Today I\u2019d like to elaborate on a single one. In response to \u201chow can you\/me be part of the solution,\u201d one person wrote: \u201cDeconstruct some of your assumptions about how we are different.\u201d No … <\/p>\n