Thinking Errors Pt. II
Greetings good people! I really hate long, tedious introductions, especially ones I previously made. I will continue the series on thinking errors with the addition of two more. Now keep in mind, I will not cover every thinking error, as there is an estimated of 15 to 20 total. I'm trying to speak on common ones that people display daily in an effort for you, the reader to “think before acting.”
Alright, housekeeping duties out the way—moving onward to..
Filtering Out the Positive: If nine good things happen, and one bad thing, sometimes we filter out the good and hone in on the bad. Maybe we declare we had a bad day, despite the positive events that occurred, or we look back at our performance and declare it was terrible because we made a single mistake. Filtering out the positive can prevent you from establishing a realistic outlook on a situation. Developing a balanced outlook requires you to notice both the positive and the negative.
Throughout the day, even a week, bad things tend to happen. Either at home (dropping your cell phone in the toilet), school, or at work (turning in an assignment late or sleeping on duty), and it can throw you off balance. It can also disrupt your confidence, the damaging of an ego. You could hurt a friend's feelings, or even your significant other. Many things of a negative core makes it very hard to find the positive in such actions. Finding the light in a forever dark tunnel. A great bit of advice is--Find a Positive!!!
Do not be the “Glass half empty” guy. Everything happens for reasons. That does not mean fate has anything to do with it. To keep hold of your ego, sustain your confidence for another time, and find your positive. It's there, just dig it out and embrace it. Build off of it. In doing so, you're are creating and maintain a progressive foundation instead of a regressing one.
EX.:
The turning in your assignment late. No, it doesn't look professional, and if you want to garner kudos for a future promotion, it's best not to continue making such mistakes but ponder on this. Maybe with extra time you could make improvements to the assignment, and give it a thorough analysis. You can see it as an error, and look at other ways to improve, and avoid repeating the same folly. This can help you create a future plan, and you'll be thankful for the experience, rather than a point in time with mistakes yield greater consequences. You see now I am the “Glass Half Full” guy. Be that person and your life will be more relaxing even when completing difficult assignments with time restraints.
Mind Reading: Although deep down we understand that we don’t really know what other people are thinking; it doesn’t prevent us from occasionally assuming we know what must be going on in someone else’s mind. When we think things like, “He must have thought I was stupid at the meeting,” we’re making inferences that aren’t necessarily based on reality. Basically this is assuming. You know how the saying goes... "Assumptions makes an ASS out of you." Presuming an impended act which, if this was war, and you were a commander—making a wrong assumption could cost you and your troops lives. As far as daily interactions with people, we do this a lot. We figure we know a person and can predict their actions. We can assume what they are going to do because, this, happened to them, and in turn, will cause this reaction. We act out in a negative fashion because we assume they will do the same. It's better not to assume unless you have all the facts, in which event, you will not have to assume.
Too many times we actively insert our own foot in our mouth by not listening and observing. I can very well make a correct assumption that if I hit James's car in the parking lot, he'll become angry. Yes, that could very well happen. Now if I assume that James is going to hit me with his fist or any other foreign object well that is another story. Continuing with this example; if I thought he was going to hit me then, as soon as he becomes upset/angry I hit him and claim be self-defense. You know, “Minority Report.”
Look, don't assume, gather your facts, and if you have to make a guess, make it an educated one. Hence, that's where gathering facts comes in at. Also, observing and listening helps you to construct a clear picture of what's going on, or what happened to develop, nature, and proclaim a guess.
Stay Tuned For Part Three!!!
