Assumptions keep crushing me, getting heavier and heavier as the days progress. Yet, assumptions are supposed to reduce stress on the brain. Sometimes when I don’t have the answer to somebody’s actions, it feels better in the moment to draw my own conclusions rather than knowing the real answer. Assumptions are the shortcuts that my brain makes for momentary relief. This relief, however, does not last long. I continue to make assumptions, falling deeper and deeper into a situation that is backed by no substantial proof.
I didn’t get the job, so they must’ve hated my personality. My friend doesn’t respond to my question, they must be ignoring me. My partner gave me a look, I must have said or did something rude.
Not only are assumptions just harmful, but they disrupt creativity, stop a person from taking responsibility for their situation, and overall don’t help anyone involved in the situation. Assumptions are mostly spewed on social media because we typically don’t have the facts to the stories or images we are viewing. We see a photograph of a celebrity and assume that we know their thoughts and feelings. Online assumptions were recently shown this year when Taylor Swift was caught hugging Brittany Mahomes. This was controversial as former president Donald Trump publicly thanked Mahomes for “strongly defending me” after she liked one of his Instagram posts in August of this year. That post was titled, “The 2024 GOP Platform”, in which outlined what a second Trump term would look like and the plans he had set. The photo of Taylor Swift hugging Brittant Mahomes made the public believe that Taylor Swift was now endorsing Trump for a second term. This was an assumption that the public made about her. She later on posted an endorsement for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Assumptions, in these celebrity cases, are usually wrong and because of their large scale audiences, they have the power to influence personal assumptions.
Assumptions are isolating because I assume who a person truly is. The more and more I talk to that person, I realize I was completely wrong about them. Because I assumed who this person was, I didn’t fairly get to know them. I did this a lot my freshman year. I limited the number of friends I made for thinking I knew who they were despite only having one conversation. Those people could have made a lasting impact during my college career, but now I will never know due to the assumptions I made. This is a never-ending cycle of making a quick assumption, finding out the truth, and realizing how wrong the assumption was.
My goal for this year is to quit making quick conclusions on anything, because of the negative attributes associated with assumptions.I need to stop talking to someone once and decide if they are good or not. I can’t formulate an opinion about everything after one look or one conversation. I have missed multiple opportunities doing this and I can prevent that from happening if I make the change now. I need to stop getting in my head about a situation that I know so little about. Instead, I can have thoughts and feelings about a person or situation, but I will not assume that is the truth. I will give myself the space to formulate any opinion I have, reflect on where and why this is the opinion I am forming, and then I will not assume that this is the truth and will not let it sway my future decision until I know the real truth.
Assumptions are hard, I know everyone struggles with it. That being said, I want to put an end to it and stop myself from not being the real me in fear that someone will judge or assume who I am as a person. I deserve to be happy, and so do you. Next time you watch someone walking around on campus or sitting in class, don’t assume you know who they are, how they act, what they like, instead, take a look at yourself and determine if making assumptions will help you in that situation, why you are doing that, and eliminating them.
Assumptions are ruining the positivity in my life. Let’s break assumptions apart, find the true meaning of them, and ultimately stop that habit that so many of us possess.