Last summer we had a bunch of work done around our property. We decided to move forward building a detached two-car garage with an extended side to use as a gym. Additionally, we had a few big oak and hickory trees near the house we needed to have cut down. On a warm sunny June morning, both crews showed up for work about the same time.
The garage-builders were Mennonites. Mennonites are a religious community similar to the Amish, but with a lot less restrictions. There were two older workers and four clean-cut young men, probably in their teens. I expected them to work hard and do a good job, figuring they would do it “as unto the Lord.”
The tree cutters were very different. The head of the team was about my age. He had a thick grey beard which was stained yellow from the nicotine from his ever-present cigarette. The other two were in their early 20s and were covered in what looked to be homemade tattoos. Both had a history of trouble and spoke in a non-stop stream of expletives. One had stretched out earlobes from wearing those big disc earrings. He told me he was going to cut and close them himself so he could be eligible to join the military. I was a little nervous about how good this crew would be.
The Mennonites lived up to my expectations. They were skilled, efficient, and polite. They worked hard in the hot, humid weather and stayed until they ran out of daylight.
The tree cutters exceeded my expectations. They were skilled, efficient, and polite. The also worked hard in the hot, humid weather and stayed until the job was completely finished and the site cleaned up.
I learned a lesson that day about the agony of assumption. I wondered how someone, supposedly enlightened like I claim to be could fall into that trap. It was easy. After all, assumptions allow us to make faster decisions. We can process data a lot quicker when we shortcut what we think we know and fail to see things as they are. In the end, nobody knew about my assumptions. They simply did the job according to their own high standards.
Have I caused someone to fail because I set an artificially low or high standard because of assumption? I’m positive I have as I’m sure others have done it to me.
But what about you? The opposite of assumption is curiosity. What would life be like if we all chose to see things as they are rather than what we assume they will be? Maybe that’s a good goal for all of us as we wind down this year. What do you think?