You Know What They Say About Assumptions!!!

Isn’t it so fascinating to hear the assumptions about you made by others?

In the past week, I have experienced two different cases where people assumed I was in a relationship.  It seems that people just assume that other individuals around them are in significant relationships, even when the person is not wearing a ring.  I had one individual make a comment about my husband, but there is no ring on my finger. In that situation, I played along because I had no energy to discuss my relationship status.  In most cases, I would challenge them a bit, but it seemed that the person was just trying to change the topic. If it were a personal experience outside of work, I would have said more about it, possibly.

In the second case, a total stranger made an assumption that my friend was single and that I was taken.  We were in a bowling alley waiting for a lady that contacted my friend regarding her kindle for sale. When she arrived, she was not alone.  She brought her father along, and he was super talkative. He made comments about drinking with my friend and me. We had no intentions of ever meeting up with this man again, but of course, we held a conversation with him.  We couldn’t be rude! When we were getting ready to leave, he asked when we wanted to go out drinking with him and then proceeded to tell me that my boyfriend probably wouldn’t be okay with me hanging out with a different guy.  But when he looked at my friend, he stated that she was single, so she would be fine. What an awkward position!!??

Don’t make assumptions about people.  Instead ask them their story. It’s easy! And it allows you to get to know someone better.

I know it is super easy to see someone and quickly make assumptions about those people based on how we view them.  “Oh, she must have a great family, house, and career because she seems to have herself put together.” “He is so handsome; his wife must be beautiful.”  Sometimes we may even think someone is a wretched person based on looks or facial expressions. Unfortunately and fortunately, that is not always the case.  We have no idea what circumstances affected people. Someone may be having an awful day, and we assume that the person is the biggest ass around, just based on facial expressions.  We didn’t necessarily ask the person what was going on, because we didn’t care enough to do so or because we, ourselves, were too busy with what was going on around us. But we were still able to form a first impression, which may stick with us for some time.  And may not be accurate.