The Funny Thing About Assumptions

One thing I have never quite understood is how comfortable people are making up stories about other people's lives.

Not actual stories based on facts.

Stories based on assumptions.

Sometimes they'll look at a single photo, a short video, a comment, a house, a car, a job, or a relationship and decide they know everything they need to know about a person.

The funny part is that half the time, they couldn't be more wrong.

I've seen people make assumptions about my choices, my lifestyle, my finances, my relationships, and even my personality without ever having a real conversation with me. Somewhere along the way they filled in the blanks, connected a few imaginary dots, and created a version of me that exists only in their head.

What makes me laugh is the confidence.

Not the assumption itself.

The confidence.

Because they'll repeat these made-up conclusions as if they personally conducted an investigation and reviewed the evidence.

Meanwhile, I'm standing there wondering how they arrived at that conclusion when they never asked a single question.

As I've gotten older, I've realized that most assumptions tell us more about the person making them than the person they're making them about.

People tend to fill in the blanks with their own experiences, fears, beliefs, and expectations. They're not always seeing you. Sometimes they're seeing a story they already had in their head.

The lesson I've learned is simple.

You cannot spend your life correcting every assumption people make about you.

You can't chase every rumor, every misunderstanding, or every made-up story.

Eventually you learn to let people believe what they want while you continue living your actual life.

Because at the end of the day, the truth doesn't change just because someone invented a different version of it.