Earlier in the week, my husband went to a car show. I was sick and couldn’t attend, so he had an extra ticket. He approached people waiting in a line to buy their tickets and asked if they wanted the extra ticket. Several people were rather rude and said, “No. I don’t want that.” Finally, one man said, “I’ll take that!”

The man who watched, listened, and understood what my husband was asking was the one who gladly accepted the ticket. All the other people assumed that my husband was trying to sell them something or give them something they didn’t want (they wanted tickets, or they wouldn’t have been in line).

All of us make assumptions, and all of us assume inaccurate things about people, places, and situations. One of the things that kept me silent about my diagnosis for such a long time is my fear of assumptions.

I made assumptions about people. I assumed that they would think that someone with schizophrenia would be incapable of being rational, making sound decisions, or functioning in everyday life.

It was an assumption about assumptions.

As is the case with so many assumptions, I was wrong. I am happy that I was wrong. Some people are curious about what it is like to live with schizophrenia, but no one has treated me any differently than they did before they knew I had a mental illness.

I need to learn that making assumptions can cause me to miss out on something good.

I need to learn to assume less and trust more. I need to open my eyes, and ears and see and hear what is going on before I make up my mind that I don’t want something – someone could be giving away something for free that it would normally cost me money to buy.

I’m going to try not to assume. I don’t want to miss that free ticket. Do you?