You're liable to get into a pickle.
And assumption is the mother of all...
But, your brain is hardwired to build shortcuts, to assume stereotypes, to limit the amount of information it engages with.
If it didn't you would be constantly overwhelmed and unable to function.
So why's it a problem?
Well, staying trapped in your own assumptions does rather limit creativity, innovation, and empathy, which depending on what you want to achieve might be a bit of a problem.
But there are a couple of tricks you can use to break out:
- my favourite is to remind myself that the time to make up your mind about people is never; people are always shifting and responding to external stressors. Someone who is functioning on three hours of sleep could be completely different when rested.
- the other trick is to seek out people with views that make you uncomfortable, and try to see their point of view.
Because not all beautiful blondes are stupid, and not all big boys are bullies...
