HOW DO ASSUMPTIONS SHAPE US?

Are assumptions the mother of all fuck ups?   Some will try to convince you that your assumptions are your windows to the world. They'll tell you to scrub them off every once in a while, or the sunlight won't come in to inform you of the truth.

Assumptions can be dangerous things for people to make, and like all dangerous things that are made -- bombs, for instance, or strawberry shortcake -- if you make even the smallest mistake you can find yourself in terrible trouble because of the consequences. Making assumptions simply means believing things are a certain way with little or no evidence that shows you are correct.  Moreover, if you just think about how assumptions affect thinking and decision-making, you might be able to see how this can lead to terrible problems. For instance, one morning you might wake up and make the assumption that your bed was in the same place that it always was, even though you would have no real evidence that this was so, that it had floated out to sea, and now you would be in terrible trouble all because of the incorrect assumption that you'd made. You might be able to see now that it is better not to make too many assumptions, particularly in the morning when the sunlight rises to inform you by uploading her wisdom.

On the other hand, assumptions can be useful.  Assumptions could be used as an artist's palette of paint, and when we slept in that bed on a plane we'd use our beliefs to paint a new masterpiece as well on a freshly stretched canvas.  Your mind would act the role of the brush that pushes the paint around the canvas's surface as you dream and assume what awaits you in the City of Lights.

Here, an assumption might look like this:  When you got out of your bed this time, you might discover that the bed was in a plane.  When you went to sleep you were flying over New York from Chicago on your way to Paris for the holidays just to be seduced by the lights, music, and atmosphere.  You wanted to dance the Tango on the Seine.  Below Point Neuf, you'd planned to meet a vivacious Frenchwoman who would invite you to a dark fire-lit jazz joint in Monmarte.  There you'd look into the eyes each other over a glass of Bordeaux.  Then, you'd get invited to her rooftop terrace where you'd gaze at the Eiffel Tower under starlight while resting your head on her beautiful shoulder.  Then, you'd wake up in white satin sheets and have breakfast in bed waiting for the sun to rise.  Then you'd walk hand in hand over to Point des Arts to hang up our lovelock.  But just then reality woke you in the bed of the plane over an ocean and you'd realize you never really appreciated what your job was really about.  You take people to places they dream of going by giving them a new chance to assume and choose.  Choices really are the hinges of destiny in life.  When you woke up and stepped out of that bed on the plane you'd realize you were traveling into a new world.  A superposition of what might be.  Here, one can be met by unfamiliar scents, where the colors of the rainbow take on a different filter, and where hearts can acquire a new beat.  You'd begin to realize you are so glad you are who you are, rational, calm, and so determined because the world needs people like you to get people like those reading this, to a place they have trouble imagining.

SUMMARY

Your perceptions influence all areas of life. The totality of your perceptions— regarding yourself, your life, life in general, and others, creates and impacts your personal reality and ultimately your experience of life.  

Negative, disabling assumptions lead you in the direction of a very dismal reality. Positive, empowering assumptions give you every opportunity to live a rich, fulfilling life. Though assumptions don't make your wishes come true, they can give you the perspective necessary for bringing your dreams to life.

Perception acts as a lens through which we view reality. Our perceptions influence how we focus on, process, remember, interpret, understand, synthesize, decide about, and act on reality. In doing so, our tendency is to assume that how we perceive reality is an accurate representation of what reality truly is.  Through perception, we become more aware of and can respond to our environment. We use perception in communication to identify how our loved ones may feel. We use perception in behavior to decide what we think about individuals and groups.

Perception is everything; the way you perceive things, the way you see things, is ultimately the way things will play out in your life.  Perspective helps us to understand situations from other positions and to consider other beliefs, experiences, and viewpoints. This gives us a better understanding and greater empathy. It reduces bias, and judgment, and reduces conflict.  

The power of perspective is an intentional discipline. It takes time and commitment, but it creates an understanding between you and the people you lead that allows you to move forward, faster—and with increasing success.

Your perceptions need to be sharpened in 2023.  Realize you need to describe your relationship with truth and false perception this year.  You cannot rely on experts or the media.  You need to deal with your own and other's perceptions.  

"Perception is more important than reality. If someone perceives something to be true, it is more important than if it is in fact true. This doesn’t mean you should be duplicitous or deceitful, but don’t go out of your way to correct a false assumption if it plays to your advantage." 

In 2023 you must obtain clarity in declaring the acceptability of what is false.