In the book It’s All About Me I have an entire chapter about the pitfalls of Assumptions and Expectations I think you will enjoy, and Don Miguel Ruiz also wrote of Assumptions as his third agreement in the book The Four Agreements.
How many times have assumptions become the bane of your experience? How many times have you assumed you knew the scope of work expected only to find your concept of an agreement was totally different than that of the other party? The natural and unavoidable outcome of such communication is conflict; conflict which is so easily avoided if we make certain our expectations are fully conveyed, that there are no assumptions. Yes this might take an extra moment or two, but it is so worthwhile. When combined with the second agreement of Don Ruiz (Don’t Take Anything Personally) we find that we are called to take that moment, or give that moment to insure everyone is on the same page. We do not take personally that we are being asked to clarify something. What we are doing is staying in integrity.
Don Miguel also points out the old trap that “If he/she loved me they would know what I want.” Loving someone does not give us unlimited access to another thoughts.
Once again I invite you to purchase and read It’s All About Me, learn more about assumptions and expectations, and perhaps the job or relationship you save will be your own!
