A Safe Assumption

Assumptions can be dangerous, but there's one assumption I rely upon almost daily... always assume there's something you don't know. I find that making that one assumption helps me keep a balanced approach to the issues I face daily; particularly when it comes to making judgment decisions.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I found a clear example of this while I watched the World Cup Final on Sunday. When I saw Zidane head-butt Materazzi, I quickly went to my assumption, there's something we don't know about the situation. Yes, the head-butt was a deplorable act, but we don't know what traspired to lead up to that point. ESPN2 re-aired the final match on Monday night and I caught parts of the game; it was interesting to watch it through a Zidane-focused lens. The Italians game plan was clear, whenever Zidane touched the ball he was hounded, not just defended, by two, sometimes three players, each harrassing him extra-physically. He was given no space on the pitch. He was roughed up from start to finish, even sustaining some type of shoulder injury late in the second half. In addition to the physical abuse, he was likely getting thrashed verbally as well, though it wasn't as evident from the camera angles. All that to say that in re-watching parts of the game, it was clear there were things we as a world audience didn't know or had forgotten once we saw the head-butt. Does that excuse him? No, but it does give a broader perspective on what happened.

Though in very different contexts, assuming that there's always something I don't know makes me dig deeper into the situations that come my way, to seek additional information before making a decision.