Termites are capable of compromising the strength and safety of a structure. Termite damage can be costly!

Assumptions can compromise your relationships!

Assumptions can require costly repairs to fix!

Do you ever find yourself making negative assumptions about other people’s reactions?

Action: He didn’t even look me in the eye when I was talking.

Assumption: He obviously didn’t care and wasn’t interested in what I had to say.

Action: She didn’t ask any questions about my day.

Assumption: She’s selfish and could have cared less about the stressful day I had.

Action: He didn’t even say “hi” when I saw him in the store.

Assumption: I guess that says how important I am to him.

Action: She never called me back.

Assumption: I’m sure she’s upset with me about something I said.

Action: He didn’t respond to my request.

Assumption: I’m sure that means he doesn’t approve or isn’t interested.

Negative assumptions affect how you feel, which affects how you behave, which ultimately affects your relationships with others.  

In all of the scenarios above, your assumption may lead you to send “emotion” poison back to the person.  You ignore them, back away, become silent, blame them, criticize them, become angry and rude with them. 

In reality, your assumption may just be a MIRAGE.    

We think what we see is REAL and CLEAR, but it’s not!

Our assumptions are FREQUENTLY WRONG!

Could there be another reason for their actions?

 Henry Winkler wasn’t that far off with his quote-

“Assumptions are the termites of relationships.”

Is it fair to assume something about someone without taking the time to investigate the truth?

Are we being judgmental?

A good way to avoid making false assumptions is to ask questions and get to the truth before forming an opinion.

Imagine… spending less time making assumptions and more time getting the answers.

• When was the last time you made an assumption?
• What were the consequences?
• What could you have done differently?

It can be quite liberating to begin to check out your assumptions before believing them.