Think First Before You Jump To Conclusions

Knowing this, would you choose to buy the crystal ball? Would you want to use it?

Let’s take a second to practice a reflection activity. Imagine that you are in a store that sells magical items. You come across a crystal ball that can see into the future. While very powerful, this crystal ball has two major defects: Firstly, it has a tendency to predict outcomes that are the worst case scenario in many situations. Secondly, the predictions that the crystal ball makes are only sometimes true, so we can never be sure that the predictions it makes will actually become reality.

Knowing this, would you choose to buy the crystal ball? Would you want to use it? Or would you rather not let that negativity into your life? Interestingly, our thinking can sometimes operate just like this crystal ball. All too often, we may find ourselves jumping to conclusions about any given situation, without considering all the facts. Other times we make unfounded assumptions about how others see us. This jumping-to-conclusions mindset can be detrimental but can also be reframed into a valuable asset: we can positively refashion our predictions to avoid unnecessary stress, anxiety, and negativity.