Misunderstandings

"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said."
— Peter Drucker

Assuming is a dangerous tactic. While it may seem that you know what is going on in a situation in your own mind, it is shocking to find out how wrong we can be at times. We allow our egos and emotions to take over the thinking process.

During a conversation I had the other day with my husband, it was almost amusing in the end how much we both had assumed and how little we were actually listening to each other. It started with my husband thinking that he knew what I was thinking. Then when he stated what he thought I was thinking, I misunderstood and assumed he was saying something to purposely hurt my feelings.

Simply put, we were both wrong and it took quite a bit of talking it out to figure it all out. Thankfully we were willing and able to talk it out to settle the misunderstanding before it went any further. But it was quite an eye-opener. How easy it is to misunderstand someone else. We get into the habit of thinking we know the other person so well because we have been together for so long. And for the most part, that is very true. But throw in some dangerous ego play, some past emotional hurts, you will soon discover chaos reigns.

Once again, communication is the key. Clear and concise without any room for assumptions. Even with those we think we know so well.