False Assumptions – Sunday, June 26, 1983
Misinformation is often the cause of ignorance. With little effort on our part we become victims of, and even pass on, untruths that we assume to be accurate. It would probably amaze us if we knew how many things, we believe to be true that, in fact, are not true.
For instance, it seems silly to ask, “Where was the Battle of Bunker Hill fought?” But the apparent, obvious answer is not the right one. The shots heard at that revolutionary battle were fired on Breed’s Hill, not Bunker. And who said, “Elementary, my dear Watson?” Apparently not Sherlock Holmes. At least not Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock” because the quote is not in any of Doyle’s stories. And so it is with so many things we believe to be true. We all carry around with us a load of misinformation.
Granted, many such factual miscues, which come from our inadvertent ignorance, probably don’t hurt us. But we also carry many false ideas about life and how we ought to proceed in life that are dangerous and damaging. These illogical and irrational ideas slowly and silently convince us.
Many really believe, for example, that we ought to be thoroughly competent in everything we do. We believe that that is part of being an adult. As a result, we’re reluctant to admit errors; hate to believe we have vulnerabilities; or worse, torment ourselves when we’re not achieving as we think we should, seeing only the trifling flaws instead of the strengths.
It’s irrational for us to believe we’ll be competent in everything. The very fact that we’ve expended effort and time in developing strengths means we’ve left other skills untended which become our weaknesses.
Another false idea that plagues us is the notion that we should reap approval, even admiration, for most of what we do. We look for nodding heads to tell us we’ve done well, and if our best effort is ignored, we question the value of what we’ve done. True, we need recognition, but reality reminds us that it does not always come in direct proportion to our effort. For most of us, our actions, even the best ones, go largely unpraised.
And lastly, we would suggest that it is a falsehood to believe that all of our unhappiness is externally caused, that we are simply victims of circumstances beyond our control. To look at the world around us and complain about what it does to us is of little positive value and leads us to believe we have no control over our own destiny. But we do.
Indeed, the expectations we have about life often become the rules that guide us. And since they do, we ought to step back and examine the validity of these ideas. For nothing has the power to make us more miserable than a false assumption.
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June 26, 1983
Broadcast Number 2,810