Assuming is one of the most natural instincts humans have. As natural as it may be, making assumptions can also be one of the most harmful things we as people have to face.
The thing about making assumptions is that most of the time there’s no room to correct them. People either blow them off and act like nothing’s wrong or they go completely off on the person who’s doing the assuming without any real explanation.
Society has become so use to assuming that people have been closed off to the idea of any type of change or difference, which causes major issues due to the fact that everything changes. This develops great disfunction in the way humans interact with and treat each other.
As time goes on, there’s no real reason to stay the same. The planet evolves and so do our individual selves, whether it’s because things happen that shape us or we just age, learn and grow.
If people hold onto what they think they know or what they knew about a person, but it’s either changed or it wasn’t true to begin with. How can they say they “know or knew” that person?
It is inevitable for things to evolve, so why are we continuing to make the same assumptions?
It’s obvious that people struggle with change and assumptions make it easier for them to avoid having to accept change. However, us making the same old assumptions doesn’t help anybody.
In fact, making those assumptions causes much more anguish than good to the people having the assumptions placed upon them, but also to the people who are making these assumptions and accusations. This can lead to inaccurate judgment of people and what they’re capable of.
Making assumptions based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other cultural identity causes people to “judge books by their covers” and not see a person for their authentic selves. This means if people are assuming things, they’re taking away an opportunity for an individual to express themselves and be able to tell their unique story.
Constantly making the same assumption about an individual or a particular group of people can be truly degrading to their health and well being, and can ultimately lead to self esteem issues.
Forcing personal assumptions onto others can also be traumatizing depending on the level of what and how much is being assumed of a particular person. Making assumptions based on past experiences or personal interactions with others can get messy due to the fact that nobody is the same which means that it’s impossible for people to have the exact same experiences and outlook on life.
A prime example of this is when people look at me and assume that my brain must not work because I have Cerebral Palsy or I must not be living a meaningful life because well how could I when I’m stuck in a chair? First of all, my brain works just fine. Heck, it might even work better than the average brain because of the CP or maybe it’s just me. Secondly, this chair is my way of being independent so no, I’m not “stuck” in it and I do indeed have an extremely meaningful life.
The other problem with placing assumptions on people is if one thing is slightly similar for a group of people, it is assumed that everyone who identifies with that group is the same. Whoever came up with that idea is ignorant.
It doesn’t matter if a person identifies with a certain group of people or not. We as people should have an open mind and let them show us who they are, instead of making all of these assumptions based on what they look like.
Here’s something to ponder: is it possible to not have these assumptions? How can we as society do a better job of seeing and accepting people for who they actually are? Can we evolve in our ways of thinking?