I’m wondering if there’s any merit in correcting assumptions and stereotypes.

For example, a woman says she’s working late and someone she barely knows assumes she must be a workaholic from that statement. Hmmn…

It would seem illogical to arrive at a conclusion from a single statement. One could say it betrays a certain narrow-mindedness, when a person is only able to conceive one scenario in a situation that has multiple possibilities.

In this instance, the woman may have been playing all day and so ended up running late on important deliverables. There could have been a flat tire on the way to work, an impromptu meeting while at work, an unplanned fire drill….all these are valid possibilities. To make a sudden leap to arrive at “workaholic” connotes a mindset that seems against women working late. So, the person concluded before thinking through.

Here’s why I was wondering whether it is worth the emotional energy to correct assumptions:

Am I in a relationship with the person? Do I want to be?

Am I doing business with the person?

Is the person a family member I have to see everyday?

Has the person been assigned to me as a project from God?

If the person is neither of these (or something similar), is there really any value in what they think?

It may not be worth your while correcting people's assumptions about you. Share on X