Certain incidents over the last few months got me thinking about the impact of assumptions on our decisions. Simple day-to-day tasks such as travel route, task schedules, etc., are determined based on assumptions. In essence, Assumptions are a part of life.

As I ruminated over the impact of assumptions on our decisions, a certain shopping escapade with my sister and her kids a few years ago came to mind. We had just driven into a car park and were trying to find an empty parking bay, when the car in front of us stopped abruptly. Two hefty men with huge muscles jumped out of the car and marched towards us. Each step they took felt like a loud thud to the ground. Kidnapping scenes from various TV series and movies flashed across my mind. I am a big fan of the hit TV series “24” and at that moment, I felt like I was in one of the episodes. All I could think of was; how would Jack Bauer tackle this situation?

With just a few seconds to spare, I did a quick survey of the environment to plan an escape route. Plan A – reverse out of the car park and drive off at great speed (thankfully, there were no cars behind us). Plan B – scream for help (there were many people around who could come to our aid and alert the police). As I began to yell out “lock the doors and reverse” to my sister, the men stopped at the boot of their car. They opened it, grabbed their work bags and walked off in a different direction.

Phew! What a relief! Those seconds seemed to have lasted forever. My sister’s facial expression gave away her thoughts; they were the same as mine. Our initial shock wore off quickly and we burst out laughing. We wondered how we misjudged the situation, without uttering a word to each other.

The inarguable fact of that situation was that the men were headed in our direction. But the truth was that they were going to get things from the boot of their car. Facts don’t always give us all the required information. Truths do and often times, they are not so glaring. How many times have we made assumptions about a situation and found ourselves to be in the wrong? Often times, a little bit of patience helps us make valued and accurate conclusion of situations, which enables us to take the best course of action.

Our assumptions are often fed by the information we imbibe. We make conclusions from them which results in our actions. Filter the information you receive. Take the needful out of it and dump the rest. I have decided to base my assumptions on the truth of God’s word. If I can think the best of that situation, circumstance or individual, then I can get the best out of that situation/circumstance or individual.

God Bless.

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4 vs 23 (NLT)

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.” Philippians 4 vs 8 (MSG)

#lifeslessons #assumptions #facts #truths #actions #decisionmaking #information #24 #24extra #jackbauer #fear #kidnapping

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P.S We turned One a few days ago, and I just want to seize the opportunity to say Thank You to everyone who’s been part of the journey. Thank you all for making a dream a reality. For over twelve years, I dilly dallied on starting a blog. I’m glad I finally took the bold step. So many lessons learned over the last one year, but the most important one is; “It’s Never Too Late to Start. Follow Your Heart and Let Your Passion Propel You”.