One thing that can bring us peace of mind is dropping our worst case assumptions and guesses.
Believing that our assumption is correct, while there are many possibilities, can only bring us torment.
This issue can show up in our relationships and at work.
Let us assume that I expect a call from a friend and he/she does not call me as planned.
I may assume that the friend does not care or is irresponsible. This assumption and belief will most likely make me feel miserable.
My thoughts may race in many directions in anger and even feel abandoned by my friend.
The next day, I may find out the reason for not calling was different from my assumptions that I have already suffered from!
In that situation I have wasted my energy and well-being on something not real!
There are many situations, simple or more complex, similar to above that we may encounter.
Observing my assumptions over time has made me humble (been wrong), and leery of jumping to any conclusions, especially in situations that I have had difficult experiences in the past.
I have discovered that practice of questioning my assumptions, keeps me present and brings me more peace of mind and joy.
I invite you to observe the times that you are upset and question your assumptions. Drop the assumption until you are certain about the facts.
Copyright .2022 by Shervin Hojat
I was studying graduate engineering at a time when it became highly mathematical and foreign to the reality of innovation and trial and error that always worked for engineers. Instead, my professors would begin a problem by making a whole list of assumptions that I considered made the problem simple and manageable, but "assumed it away." Later, engineering there began thinking "outside the box (of assumptions boxing it in?)." Releasing a whole bunch of innovations that became Silicon Valley.
Ron