Page 25 - sept-oct 2021

ASSUME THE BEST?
ASSUME THE BEST?

ot long ago I was talking with a gal and she shared an impactful story with me that I wanted to share with you.
She and her husband were in the car on a date and her husband was reminiscing about having a tough week at
work. He didn’t feel at the top of his game and he had some difficult customer issues that week. While driving
Nto the restaurant, her husband noticed that his boss had scheduled a “surprise” meeting the next morning.
Immediately he got very worried about this sudden meeting. She said he began making up stories. Like one of his
customers had complained about his performance on a project and that the president of the company was dissatisfied about
something. Even though she kept encouraging him to assume the best, he still had those and other negative assumptions run-
ning through his head and brought it up several times during the date. Needless to say, it put a little bit of a damper on their
time together.
The next morning the husband, working remotely, went down to his office for the “surprise” meeting. Ten minutes
later he jubilantly emerged from his office dancing and yelling, “I got a 10% raise”! The wife said she celebrated his victory
and they both chuckled about him assuming the worst and the negative stories he made up the night before.
Her story really spoke to me since I have strongly encouraged people to assume the best about situations
and people! Too often we don’t ini-
tially have all the facts and make up
stories to satisfy the human desire
for understanding. Plus, we only
have so much energy in a day and
assuming the worst wastes that en-
ergy on something that likely isn’t
necessarily true. Very few of us are
immune from doing exactly what
he did in our daily lives. I believe it
is even easier to do in these unpre-
dictable and dynamic times that we
currently live and work.
I encourage you to stop
yourself when you start to assume
the worst and decide to assume
the best. Help other do the same.
Don’t even bother making up those
wild stories because usually you are
in for the best, not the worst. ■

About Jay Gubrud: For over 20 years, Jay
Gubrud has helped corporations, associa-
tions, their boards and members eliminate
roadblocks to their success. His theme is
very unique and one everybody can relate
to ... Cars and Driving! Jay’s articles on
performance improvement are shared with
over 10,000 people around the world. You
can reach Jay at www.jaygubrud.com and
651-635-9939.

25 Alabama Propane Gas Association | September / October 2021