Third Agreement: Don’t Make Assumptions

We continue on with the third agreement from Don Miguel Ruiz’s Book, “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, a Toltec Wisdom Book”.  This one can really get us into trouble when not adhered to.

All too often we find ourselves ‘rushing in with our own thoughts’ as others are talking with us. Instead of listening, really listening, we drum up our own version, which usually involves a step ahead assumption. We also often make assumptions about things that happen in our lives. We create ‘new truths’ which we believe are so. Ultimately, this assuming can lead to unnecessary anxiety, conflict or at the very least some serious misinterpretations of events and other’s words. Of course, rather than ask questions and get clarification, it is easier to hang on to our ‘new truths’ for dear life………like if you let go of it you might sink!!

Where does this leave us? If we continue to make assumptions, POSITIVES and JOY are going to be out of our reach because we will be too busy creating more assumptions to uphold the ‘new truths’ we created. Life will always have unnecessary drama and wasted energy if we live in this mode.

Active listening, questioning for clarity and not adding to the message can help us to uphold this third agreement. These three actions when practiced persistently can lead to POSITIVE daily habits that can bring JOY and peace to our lives.

Don Miguel Ruiz says: “We make all sorts of assumptions because we don’t have the courage to ask questions. We make the assumption that everybody sees life the mway we do.”

What assumptions have you made today? How did those assumptions impact you?